Change of Heart
by Darklighter2016
Summary: Alex and Justin Russo are headed to Camp Rock! Alex is known as a player at her school, but what happens when she meets the sweet and innocent Mitchie Torres? Will this player start to develop real feelings for someone? Or will Mitchie get her heart broken? Rated T for now, may change later.
1. Chapter 1

Change of Heart

Ch. 1

**AN 1: Well here's a new story...I hope it is enjoyed. I went back and edited a lot, so I'm now a lot happier with this chapter. In this story, magic does actually play a little bit of a factor, but not a lot; I might edit it out entirely, I haven't decided yet. This story was inspired by JBPone's "Love Addict", so any similarities are due to that. I do have a different take on some things though, so I hope that this story will be given a chance. Anyways, I do not own either Wizards of Waverly Place or Camp Rock. Here's chapter one of Change of Heart.**

**Alex's POV**

"Please, Dad?" I asked for the hundredth time today. I know, it's shocking; Alex Russo _never _says 'please', but here I am. I was honestly debating getting on my knees. Not that he ever needed to know that.

"Alex," Dad said with a sigh, "how many times do I have to tell you? No means no."

"Why not?" I demanded. "You let Justin go to WizTech for a whole summer, so why can't I be gone for just as long?" In my seventeen-year-old mind, this wasn't just uncool, but extremely unfair.

Dad gestured wildly, reminding me very forcefully of a windmill on an extremely windy day. I fought back a laugh with great difficulty. If I laughed at him now he would more than likely become even more agitated with me. "Why do you even want to go to this camp?"

I managed to keep from rolling my eyes with extreme effort, but I couldn't hold in my 'duh' tone of voice. "Because, Camp Rock is _the _music camp. Anybody who wants to be somebody in music goes there."

Dad sighed again. "And you expect me to let my baby girl travel all the way across the country for the _whole summer?_"

"It'd be nice," I said as cheerfully as I could, mentally crossing my fingers.

"Okay," he finally said. I let out a squeal of excitement. "As long as Justin goes with you," he added, just before I ran out of the room.

"What?!"

**-At the airport-**

"Can you believe this?" Justin said – for about the millionth time this morning – as he bounced on the balls of his feet. He really reminded me of a little kid in a candy store at times.

I rolled my eyes, effortlessly pretending to be annoyed. "Justin, I heard you the other 999,999 times." Yes, when Dad told me Justin had to go along to keep me out of the trouble I'd certainly get in to, I was pretty irritated. But Justin's enthusiasm for something that wasn't totally and completely dorky was infectious. Not that I would ever admit such a thing to him willingly.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll meet some cute girls," he said, winking at me. Justin was the only one in our family that knew I was homosexual, and I was surprised that he hasn't spilled on me yet. Then again, maybe it was because he didn't view my whole 'get in, get what I wanted, then leave' attitude as being truly 'gay'. "Use 'em, then lose 'em" that's my motto. Then again, most of the girls I hooked up with were the same way. Most of them anyways.

I rolled my eyes and hit him playfully. "Come on, or we'll miss our flight." As I said this, a girl with long blonde hair caught my eye, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Hey, Justin," I said, shooting a glance towards the bathroom I had seen her headed towards. "I'm gonna just go to the bathroom. Why don't you head over to our gate?" I set my backpack down at his feet and headed towards the bathroom, ignoring Justin's attempts to call me back.

I ducked into the room, thanking whoever had designed this airport for the large amount of space it contained. It would be a lot easier to pull this girl away if we had a large area to work with. Casually, I leaned against the wall as she walked over to the sinks and began to wash her hands.

"Hey," I called, pitching my voice so that it would come across as low and sultry. As the girl's eyes flickered over to meet mine, I put on my most charming smile. "You look a little lonely," I continued, pushing my body off of the wall and walking over to her.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked, recognizing my flirty tone.

_What a bad girl,_ I thought to myself, and smirked as I came up behind her. I pressed my lips to her ear and whispered exactly what I would like to do to her, causing her to grin widely and turn to capture my body between hers and the wall. "That's not how this works, sweetheart," I said, gripping her wrists and roughly switching our positions. My lips attached to her neck, causing her to moan in pleasure. Her hands began to explore as I continued to kiss her neck, causing me to smirk against her skin. A very bad girl, indeed.

Her fingers tugged at my hair insistently, causing me to move my lips slightly lower. Just as my hands began to undo the button of her jeans, I heard Justin calling my name from outside the bathroom. "Alex," he called. "Come on, we have like a minute before our plane is supposed to start boarding."

I groaned and pulled away from the blonde girl. "What a cockblock," I muttered and ran my hand through my hair. "Thanks for the good time though, sweetheart," I winked, causing her to blush furiously as I sauntered out of the bathroom.

When I reached the terminal again, I punched Justin's shoulder in mock anger. "You totally knew I was trying to hook up with someone, didn't you?"

He gave me a smug smile. "Just because I'm fine with your whole 'let's fool around' and 'no relationships for this girl' attitude doesn't mean you can go and hook up with random strangers when we're supposed to be traveling. Just keep it in your pants, player."

I rolled my eyes and sank down into my chair, waiting for our section of the plane to be called to board. Once on the plane, I pulled out my headphones and slipped them over my ears, turning up my iPod to drown out the low thrum of the plane engines. As soon as we were airborne I felt my eyes slip close and I entered the realm of dreams. Little did I know at the time that my world would change after the five hour flight.

**Mitchie's POV**

"Mitchie!" a voice called from behind me, and I turned, just in time to be tackled by my best friend, Caitlyn Gellar.

"Caitlyn, let her breathe," the voice of Caitlyn's girlfriend, Tess, said, half-admonishing, half-teasing.

I laughed, pulling both of them into a hug. "Nice to see you guys too."

We took off, Caitlyn and Tess holding hands as always, and me dragging my bags behind me.

"So, what cabin are you in this year?" Caitlyn questioned as we walked.

"Um…" I was trying to remember. "Cabin 69, I think. What?" I added, seeing the looks of glee on their faces.

"Cabin 69," Tess said dramatically, "is famous for hooking up its occupants by the end of the summer."

I laughed again, disbelieving. "I highly doubt a _cabin _is going to help my love life, considering that oh, you know…it's nonexistent."

Tess and Caitlyn shared a "are you crazy" look. "Mitchie," Caitlyn said in half-exasperated, half amused voice. "Do you really not remember who had that cabin last summer?"

"Umm…no?" I stated hesitantly. And that was when I noticed the huge Cheshire cat grin that Tess was giving Caitlyn. Realization dawned on me. "Oh…guys, I didn't need that image!" I whined in mock horror, causing both girls to burst into hysterical giggles. "Seriously?" I asked as the giggles subdued, eyes narrowed between two of my best friends.

"Well, yeah," Caitlyn said as we reached the cabin door. "Remember, we couldn't stand each other until we had to room together all summer." She reached down to help me with my guitar case and pulled open the door in the process.

"Yeah," Tess recalled fondly. "We were total bitches to each other, honestly. But one thing led to another," she murmured, interlinking her fingers with Caitlyn's again and giving her an adoring look. I felt a brief flash of jealousy. No one had ever looked at me like that. _Stop it, _I told myself as we sat my bags on one of the beds.

"And we ended up falling in love," Caitlyn concluded softly, the same adoring look adorning her face. Then she grinned widely and turned to face me. "I remember telling you I had a date with Tess, Mitch," she said with a laugh. "I thought you were going to burst a vein or something."

This recollection caused me to smile too. "Yeah well, could you blame me? I thought she had drugged you," I joked, earning a playful glare from the blonde girl.

"I would never," she sniffed. "I have better methods of persuasion than that."

"I'll say," Caitlyn said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she did so and causing all of us to burst into laughter again.

**Alex's POV**

"Alex," Justin said excitedly. "What cabin are you in?"

I pulled the paper with my cabin number on it out of my back pocket. "69," I replied, a smirk forming. How ironic was that?

Justin laughed, noticing my face and sharing the sentiment. "Camp has a sense of irony then," he joked, nudging my shoulder. We both continued to grin, each remembering the incident at the airport. "I'm in cabin 72, by the way." I nodded absentmindedly, tucking away the information in the back of my mind for later. Together, we continued the walk toward the cabins.

Finally, we reached Cabin 69, and both of us could hear voices from inside. Suddenly, I was nervous. "What if she's hot?" I whispered to Justin.

"Alex, I hear other people in there; it could be that she's already in a relationship," he whispered back. "There's only one way to find out," he added, giving me a light shove towards the door.

I shot him a glare and pulled back the cabin door, unsure of why I was so nervous. I mean, I'm Alex Russo, and Alex Russo doesn't lose her cool. The angelic laugh I was hearing emitting from the cabin wasn't that big of a deal. _It's just another girl, like all the others_, I told myself firmly, before I stepped into the cabin, Justin right behind me.

**Mitchie's POV**

The cabin door swung open, and Caitlyn and Tess stopped talking immediately. The girl who walked into the room was stunningly breathtaking and something about her attitude and the way she carried herself oozed confidence. This was a girl that demanded respect. I felt an immediate attraction to her. The boy who stepped in had to be her brother. _Please let it be her brother, _I silently begged whatever deities that did exist.

Caitlyn was the first to speak. "Hey," she said, offering her hand, which the girl shook briefly. "I'm Caitlyn."

"Alex...Alex Russo," the girl replied, glancing at me quickly. I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw a flicker of regret in her deep brown eyes. She jerked her thumb at the guy standing next to her. "This is my older brother, Justin, by the way. So, I guess you're gonna be my roomie for the summer?" she asked, looking back at Caitlyn.

I realized that I missed my cue by a mile. I cut in before Caitlyn could offer a response. "Um, I'm Mitchie…Torres…and I'm supposed to be rooming with you. I hope that's alright."

She offered me a warm smile, and I felt my heart melt. "That's great," she said, extending me her hand. It was warm and soft, and she held onto my hand longer than she had Caitlyn's. Her warm brown eyes drilled into mine, causing my brain to shut down as I admired their depths. I caught a glimpse of hidden pain and fleeting sadness, along with a hint of mischief, before she dropped her eyes away from mine, and turned to take in the cabin's interior.

"Great," I repeated, trying to think of something witty to cover up how awkward I felt and my burning cheeks. "So I guess it's just you, me, and 69." As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back. What if this gorgeous girl didn't appreciate that sort of humor?

Alex laughed, instantly dispelling any worries I had in my mind. _Her laugh was even more amazing than her smile_, I noted faintly. Justin chuckled from the doorway, and pretty soon Caitlyn and Tess joined in. I had a feeling this was going to be an interesting summer at Camp Rock.

**AN 2: And there's the first chapter. Like I said, I hope it was enjoyed. Click that button if you have any comments or reviews...they are most definitely always welcome! I hope Justin isn't too weird for this story; I was trying to make him somewhat more chill. Anyways, thanks for reading and I will try to post chapter two soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Change of Heart

Ch. 2

**AN 1: Wow, I'm a little surprised at the reviews for this story so far. Thanks for the love guys, and definitely keep it up. Reviews mean more updates! Anyways, after _a lot_ of editing, here's the second chapter. I hope it is appreciated, because I've really enjoyed writing this story. And I still do not own anything but the storyline. Enjoy guys!  
**

**Alex's POV**

I settled onto my bed after Justin, Caitlyn and the other girl (who I learned was Caitlyn's girlfriend, Tess), had left. I was glad that this Mitchie girl would be my roommate. Not that there was anything wrong with Caitlyn or Tess, but they were just way too happy. The kind of happy one expects in a relationship. I hated that kind of happy, because it typically doesn't last. Call me a pessimist, but it's true nonetheless. I had a lot of experience in the heartbreak department.

Mitchie sat across from me on her bed. "So…" she dragged out the word. "Where'd you say you were from?" she asked. I turned to look at her face, noticing that she genuinely looked interested in my answer. _That's something that's new, _I thought. _Most girls are only interested if they know I'm offering_ _sex. _And while I wouldn't call myself a whore by any stretch of the imagination, I definitely had participated in a few one-night stands. It was a lot easier that way; two people got their sexual tension satisfied, and there were no heartbreaks. Both of us just went our separate ways after the night was up.

"New York City," I answered, arching an eyebrow at her. "You?"

She gave a small laugh, "Right here in California. Which is lucky, otherwise I wouldn't be here."

I sat up and crossed my legs. "Really? Why?"

"Well," she said, a small blush forming on her face. "We aren't exactly the richest family around. My mom has a deal with the camp director," she explained, still blushing slightly. "I get to come to camp at a discounted rate because she's the cook."

"I know what you mean," I replied. She flashed me a surprised look, causing me to smile. "My family is nowhere near rich either. My parents own a sub shop in New York City. I had to save up for, like, ever to be able to afford this." Suddenly, I was missing Justin. What if I said something stupid? It wouldn't be the first time, but there was something about the beautiful girl in front of me that made me want to be…well, not so…me. Quickly, I changed the subject. "So, do you have any siblings?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I'm an only child. You're so lucky to have an older brother. Is Justin your only sibling?"

I smiled. "Don't be fooled by his appearance, he's a real dork at heart," I joked, causing her to smile as well. "And no, we have a younger brother – Max." I made a face as I thought of some of my younger brother's antics. How that boy had managed to turn himself into a dog – on more than one occasion – was still beyond my comprehension.

She laughed again, and I felt my heart leap in my chest a little bit. "You're still lucky. It's pretty lonely at my school." At my confused look, she said, "Let's just say I'm not the most popular girl around."

I couldn't help but gape at her; she was beautiful, funny, and from what I could tell, not at all stupid. How could she not be the most popular girl at her school? She was my type, and I would totally date her, if not for the fact that I would break her heart. And I didn't want to do that, which was slightly surprising. What had this girl started to do to me? I hadn't felt this way in a long time.

**Mitchie's POV**

"So," Caitlyn whispered the next day at breakfast as I sat down, "how's Cabin 69 treating you?"

"Get anything yet?" Tess asked with a giggle, causing Caitlyn to elbow her and Ella and Peggy to look up from their plates with wide eyes.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them. "Come on, guys, let's be mature here." I glanced over my shoulder to where Alex was sitting with Justin, their heads tilted together conspiratorially, and smiled. If I was going to be honest, she was all I could think about; her gorgeous smile, silvery laugh, her barely noticeable New York accent. There was something about her that pulled me in, and I was desperate to know more about the still-mysterious girl across the room.

"Mitchie," Ella whined. "You can't just leave us hanging like that."

Peggy nodded, agreeing with her best friend. "Yeah, if you haven't gotten anything, you at least got to know her a little bit, right?" she said sensibly. At that comment, I could have kissed the girl. At least one of my friends had the decency to keep their mind out of the gutter.

"Well," I said. "She's from New York City and she's seventeen, she has a younger brother, and she's really nice, sweet and funny. The boy she's sitting with is her older brother, Justin, and her family owns a sub shop."

Peggy and Ella exchanged glances. "I don't know, Mitch, she just seems…like a heartbreaker to us," Ella said, while Caitlyn and Tess nodded in agreement.

"For real," Caitlyn agreed. "She's definitely not as innocent as she might like us to think. That devil-may-care smirk she had on her face yesterday says it all."

I laughed their comments off and grabbed a slice of toast off of the plate in front of me. "Let's not judge a book by its cover, please?" I gave each of them a stern look as I buttered the toast on my plate.

They all chorused 'okay, whatever' and we returned to our food. I glanced back at Alex one more time, only to find her staring back. Slowly, a smile crept onto my face. This was going to be a great summer.

**Alex's POV**

I leaned back in my seat, draping one arm over the back of it as I did so. Mitchie had just caught my eye again, and I felt the now-familiar surge of butterflies in the pit of my stomach. "So," I said as I casually started shoveling eggs into my mouth.

Justin gave me a look clearly saying 'that's extremely gross'. "Would you please not talk with your mouth full?" he questioned, shuddering slightly as he did so.

Rolling my eyes, I swallowed before continuing. "Okay, Mr. Prim and Proper. Anyways, I've got a drummer class at nine, guitar at one, then a singing class at 3:30. What about you?"

"You really want to know?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah, so I know which classes I can skip." I said in a chipper voice, laughing at Justin's scandalized look. "Seriously, Justin, you know I'm kidding. I'll be going to all my classes, if only just to see Mitchie."

He gave me an astonished look. "Seriously?" At my confused look, he smirked. "You got it bad for her, huh?"

"Psh, you wish," I retorted. "You know how I am. Get in, get what I want, then get the hell out."

"Alex and Mitchie, sitting in a tree," he sang under his breath as he poured syrup on his waffles. "K-I-S-S-ouch!" He yelped, grabbing his side. I retracted my elbow calmly, ignoring the injured look he shot me. "That hurt," he complained, rubbing his ribs gently.

"Then don't pull that kind of crap," I shot back. "You know I'm not interested in relationships at all."

**Mitchie's POV**

"I can't believe this," Caitlyn muttered behind me as we walked out of our hip-hop dance class.

"Seriously," Ella chimed in. "We have to miss class because our _male _instructor had a bad case of cramps? How the hell is that even right?"

"He could've sucked it up," I agreed, "but now we have a free period, so I'm not going to complain too much." Whatever else I was going to say flew out the window as I saw Alex sitting on a bench out by the lake. "Hey, guys, I'll catch up with you later." I gave them a cheerful wave and walked up behind her. "Hey," I said. She turned her head, saw it was me, and her face lit up into a brilliant smile. "You mind if I join you?"

She gestured to the empty space beside her. "Coffee?" she offered, once I had sat down. I realized that she hadn't just snuck coffee out of the kitchen; that was real, honest-to-God Starbucks coffee in her hands.

"Wha-? Where'd you get that?" I asked, causing her grin to widen.

"I have my ways," she said mysteriously, winking in a conspiratorial fashion, causing me to laugh.

We looked back out at the lake, and I snuck a glance at her as she lifted her left arm to take a sip of her coffee. I stiffened slightly as I saw the pale white scars decorating her wrist. "What's this from?" I questioned, grabbing her arm. "Doesn't that make you a cutter?" _Nice, Torres,_ I thought to myself. _Way to get all handsy with the girl and accuse her of something that may not be true._

She smiled slightly and shook her head. "Cutting equals addiction," she explained, as if it were obvious. "And I'm not addicted." She chuckled at my bemused expression. "Maybe I'll tell you one day," she said, gently removing my fingers.

We lapsed into a companionable silence once more, our gazes returning to the still surface of the lake. "What is it about you?" I blurted out suddenly. She turned her head, confusion written all over her face. "You're…so much different than anyone else I've ever met." I explained, feeling my cheeks heat up as her dark eyes landed on mine.

"Well," she said, slinging her arm around my shoulders. "Isn't that the beauty of life? It's just full of surprises."

I gulped nervously, my face continuing to heat up due to the closeness of her body. "Hey, there's supposed to be a party tonight," I started, my left leg starting to bounce as I spoke. "At the Final Jam building." Her hand landed on my knee and held it still. "Do you want to go to the party with me?" I blurted, before realizing how she might take my question. "I mean, not _with me_, but with me?" I clarified, secretly thinking that I probably looked like a fire truck at the moment and hoping she miraculously wouldn't notice. At this point I could feel the heat coming off of my cheeks. "I mean, you don't have to, obviously, but I really thought it'd be a good opportunity for you to get to know people a little better."

A devilish grin formed on her face, before she leaned in and pecked me on the lips. "It's a date," she said, before standing and leaving me sitting on the bench, extremely confused.

**Alex's POV**

I walked into my guitar class, twenty minutes later than intended. I had actually intended to show up to class on time, but meeting with Mitchie had distracted me so much that I had completely forgotten what time my class started. "Ms…Russo, is it?" the camp director – Brown, I think – asked.

"Yup," I said, carelessly throwing myself into a vacant seat.

"Well, Ms. Russo, here at camp we have rules about showing up for class _on time_." He said, giving me a scorching look.

"Yeah, I, um, I forgot?" I offered, flashing a charming smile as I did so.

"Well, we can remedy that," he said, a sly smile on his face. "From now on, you're on kitchen duty."

Well, that's just great. Wait, isn't Mitchie's mom the cook? I stifled a groan as Brown began to teach the class again. For whatever reason, I actually felt nervous about working with the woman. If she didn't like me, what were my chances of being around Mitchie going to be? And more importantly, why did it even matter to me in the first place?

**Mitchie's POV**

"She did what?!" Caitlyn nearly shouted.

"She kissed me," I repeated, making shushing gestures. We were currently sitting in Barron and Sander's cabin, making plans for the party that was taking place tonight in the Final Jam building.

Caitlyn's eyes were as big as saucers by this point. Hurriedly, I went on. "But what about the scars on her wrist? I don't like cutters," I said worriedly, my knee starting to bounce again.

"You could ask her to stop," Peggy suggested from my right, strumming her guitar softly as she spoke.

"Wouldn't that make me seem like a control freak though?" I questioned, while Ella nodded in agreement.

"Not necessarily," Barron said from across the room. "If you talk with her about it, I'm sure she'd understand." Sander at his best friend in shock; clearly, he was as surprised as everyone else that Barron had actually said something sensitive. He shook his head bemusedly, before agreeing with the other boy.

"Look, Mitchie," Tess said from her seat next to Caitlyn. "This all depends on what you want from her."

"Steady relationship," Ella suggested.

"Sex!" Barron yelled out from across the room, reverting back to his insensitive self and causing me to start blushing again. Sander dropped his head into his hands in mock embarrassment, his shoulders shaking in laughter.

"Wife and kids," Caitlyn said, also laughing at how red my face was.

"Whatever," Tess said, knowing full well that I was a relationship person, not a do-it-just-to-do-it kind of person. "Just keep whatever it is that you do want in mind, okay?"

I fought back the groan that was rising in my throat. Summer just got a lot more complicated.

**AN 2: And there you go...what's going on here? Alex having second thoughts about hooking up with a hot girl (because let's face it; Demi Lovato is hot)? Review pretty please, and the next chapter will be here before you know it!**


	3. Chapter 3

Change of Heart

Ch. 3

**AN 1: Here it is...chapter three. I know that some of you are like "wow, this is really similar to 'Love Addict', what the heck is the deal?" I started this story a long time ago when I was trying to come into my own as a writer, and so the beginning is extremely similar to Love Addict. I do start to deviate though, within the next few chapters. If that isn't your thing, I'm not going to take offense to it. I also have a few - as far as I know - totally original stories in the works right now and will be posting those soon, so if you would rather wait for those, then that's cool too. Anyways, enough of my ranting...let's get to the actual chapter. Once again, I own absolutely nothing.**

**Alex's POV**

"Alex!" Justin called, hurrying up to me after my last class had finished. "What's this I hear about you walking into class _twenty minutes late_?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes at his indignant tone. "Justin, you've known me for how long?"

"Seventeen years," he mumbled.

"And how many times have I _not _shown up to class late?" I asked in a mock-patient voice.

"Very rarely," he admitted sheepishly.

I patted him on the back. "Good job," I said sarcastically.

He shot me a glare. "Well, I also hear about your new job," he said, his sheepish expression morphing into a broad smirk. "Kitchen duty? It'll be just like home," he said jokingly.

I gave him a venomous look. Yes, Justin could be okay occasionally, but this was not funny. I'd have to work with Mitchie's mom. A woman I didn't know, yet wanted to impress for Mitchie's sake. My world seemed to be making less sense these days. After I shook him off, I entered the cabin I shared with Mitchie, still absorbed in thoughts of what this newfound desire to impress her mom meant.

"Hey," Mitchie said, and I could hear the nerves in her voice, but I ignored it, opting to run a brush through my hair instead.

"Hey," I replied. _Keep it casual, _I told myself. _Don't acknowledge the elephant in the room yet._ What did she think of the kiss? I hadn't meant to; it just kinda…_happened. _And despite all of my posturing, I hadn't been able to erase the memory of her lips on mine either. My heart started to pound a little quicker in my chest as I thought about it again. _I wouldn't mind kissing her again_, I decided. What had gotten into me?

"So…ready for that party?" she asked shyly, twisting a shirt in her hands. God, she looked adorable when she was nervous.

Gently, I tugged the shirt out of her hands, deciding that I would pretend it hadn't fazed me. "You're not freaking about that kiss, are you?" I asked, peering into her deep chocolate brown eyes. I was painfully aware of how close together we were and how cute I thought she was when she was nervous. My heart was now beating so fast it could've been in a mosh pit for all I knew, and I prayed to whatever forces out there that Mitchie wouldn't notice.

She blushed, which told me she was indeed thinking about our little kiss. "I…well….it…um, kind of threw me off."

I smiled. "So you liked it?" I asked, moving closer to her. Her face was turning the most delightful shade of red as I moved towards her, causing my heart to pound a little faster still.

"I…um…" she was stuttering, causing me to chuckle. She totally liked it, despite its briefness. _Cute,_ I thought yet again.

"Well, I liked it," I admitted. "A lot." I stopped mere inches away from her and flashed her one of my most charming smiles. As soon as I said that I wanted to smack myself. Whatever happened to playing it cool?

She was silent, then her voice came out a little raggedly, "We should get going," she whispered.

"I'll take that as a yes," I said, following her towards the door.

"If you're trying to be this badass seductress that…seduces everything that walks…well, it's not working," she said, shaking her head and pulling the door open.

I felt my smile grow wider. So that's how we were going to play it. Mitchie Torres just kept becoming more and more interesting. "That's okay," I said easily, my flirtatious nature coming naturally to me. "I like a challenge."

She rolled her eyes at me playfully. "Come on, Russo, let's get to that party."

**Mitchie's POV**

There was something about Alex's smile, I noticed. When she flashed that smile at me, I became someone else. Confident and brave, two things I am _definitely _not. That being said, the same smile could turn my insides to mush and cause my brain to stop functioning properly, so I was unsure of what exactly to make of that. Or her, for that matter.

"Is this the part where we spill our life stories?" she joked as we walked towards the Final Jam building, shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets.

"Only if you go first," I muttered, causing her to smile again.

"Well, that depends on what you want to know," she said easily. I was slightly surprised. I didn't think that she would agree to this so easily.

"What's with the scars on your wrist?" I blurted. I know that she already said she wouldn't talk about it, but it just slipped out before I could help it and I covered my mouth as soon as the words were out. _Nice move, _I thought guiltily. _Now she's going to think you're nosy._

She stopped and stared down at her Converse, her left hand unconsciously rubbing her right wrist as if it had been burned. I could see that she was trying to gather her thoughts, so I stood beside her quietly. "It's…complicated," she said after a long silence, just before I opened my mouth to tell her that we didn't need to talk about it if she didn't want to. "I don't like it….it's just a form of release." She said, struggling with her words. "I know, it's not very healthy – well, it's not healthy at all – but I'm going to stop." Alex looked at me, a pained smile ghosting across her face. "That's what everyone says, I know, but I really am. But…I'm kinda scared to stop at the same time; that was my way to deal with the pain, you know?" I could see an earnest expression on her face in the dim moonlight. _She was serious about stopping_, I realized. I felt a sense of relief wash over my body at this; here I was, worrying over a nearly complete stranger. I had never felt so strongly about another person in such a short amount of time. Even when I was with Shane, it took me a while to get to know him and even longer for me to really develop any feelings for him.

I continued to stare at her as these thoughts ran through my mind. I wasn't expecting that much and it was almost like she had wanted or at least expected me to ask. Surprising her as well as myself, I pulled Alex into a hug. She tensed at first, but I felt her slowly relax into my arms. "Hey, I don't know really know anything about this kind of stuff," I whispered into her hair, "but you won't be alone. I'll help you. All you need to do is let me in."

She pulled away, and I glimpsed the hidden pain and dark secrets lurking in her beautiful brown eyes before her walls slammed back up, effectively locking me out. "Thanks," she mumbled, "but I've got all kinds of issues, Mitch. If I told you how messed up I truly was, you'd run for the hills as soon as you could."

"I'm just saying…I know I just met you and all, but I wanna help." I gripped her hand tightly. "You're not alone, Alex." She looked at me, emotions swirling in her eyes, and gripped my hand even more tightly.

"Thanks….heaven knows I'm a lot to handle," she laughed in a clear attempt to lighten the mood. I shook my head and smiled softly at her, telling her without words that I understood and wouldn't ask anything else until she was ready to talk. We continued walking in silence, our hands still intertwined. I used this time to relish how warm and soft her hand felt in mine, and briefly thought that I wouldn't mind holding her hand all the time.

"We're here," I said, a little while later. I turned to her, raising my eyebrow. "It's a date, right?"

She gave me a cocky smile. "Do you want it to be? 'Cause I do."

My heart zoomed into overdrive, and blushing ferociously, I managed an intelligible "Oh yeah," before laughing, she pulled me into the building.

**Alex's POV**

I sat back, observing the partygoers with my typical casual, indifferent air. All around, kids danced, stood, walked, sat, jumped, and pretty much anything else a human could do. And I literally meant everything; there were a couple of boys getting extremely hot and heavy in the corner. But I didn't spend too much time looking around; my eyes were only for Mitchie, and thankfully, her eyes only noticed me.

Smiling slightly, I pulled her out onto the dance floor. I pulled her closer, resting my forehead against hers as we began to dance. "Why do I feel like I've known you forever?" I questioned, not caring if I sounded completely stupid or corny. Mitchie made me feel invincible; like I could do anything, but the moment was tainted by guilt. I had way too much practice telling a pretty girl what they wanted to hear.

"I know what you mean," she said softly.

I pulled her closer, pressing my lips to hers softly. She responded eagerly; I felt her start to deepen the kiss as she ran her fingers through my hair. If I was going to be honest, I would say I never wanted this moment to end. It was too perfect, too special.

"Alex," she said suddenly, pulling back. "I…I think we're moving way too fast here. I barely know you."

I looked at her, confused. "We can fix that," I whispered gently, brushing my fingers through her hair softly. "We're going to be rooming together the whole summer."

She shook her head. "But what happens after the summer is over? You'll go back to New York, and I…I don't want to get attached to someone who's just gonna run off to the other side of the country after camp's over."

I searched her face. "So, you just want to be friends?" I asked, my voice cracking with a mix of sadness and disappointment. I wasn't faking the emotion in my voice; I had never met someone like Mitchie before, and the thought of just being friends when I wanted to be more was agonizing.

"No," she said quietly. "I just don't want to get my heart broken."

I stared into her eyes. "I won't break your heart," I said softly. The guilt I felt increased, twisting my insides painfully. I had just threw lie number one out into the open. This was the same thing I had said to dozens of other girls, and it never worked out that way, so what made Mitchie so different? _Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't just interested in me for sex, _my mind whispered.

My guilt increased even more as she interrupted my thoughts and whispered, "I believe you," leaning in for another kiss as she did so. _No way was I doing this to someone else_, I thought suddenly, the ferocity of the thought surprising me. Especially Mitchie. Absolutely _no way_. The difference between them and her, I decided, was that this time I wasn't willing to watch the inevitable trainwreck occur. I wanted to protect Mitchie from ever experiencing that kind of pain. Mitchie reminded me of past relationships, which in turn reminded me of past wrongs and past mistakes. But that didn't mean that she wasn't different. She was; yet she was so…familiar. I didn't want to repeat my old wrongs.

"You know what," I said, jerking my head back and throwing my hands up in the universal sign of surrender. All the pain and damage that I had caused to other girls rose to the forefront of my mind. "I can't do this; I'm out of here." I walked away from the beautiful girl in front of me, leaving a huge part of my heart behind.

**AN 2: What is this? Alex isn't into it? What will Mitchie do? Please drop a line if you liked it or have comments of any kind. I promise I will update sooner if you do!**


	4. Chapter 4

Change of Heart

Ch. 4

**AN 1: Well, here be chapter four! I like to think that this is where things really noticeably split from 'Love Addict', so thank you to the people who have kept up with this story. It really does mean a lot, and the interest/feedback that I have received is amazing! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed; you guys are awesome. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, since it is shorter than all the others, but I have a pretty lengthy chapter coming up, so I suppose it all works out. Once again, I own nothing. Absolutely nothing. Now onto the story. Enjoy guys.**

**Mitchie's POV**

_What the hell? _I asked myself, staring at Alex's retreating back. I chased after her. "What do you mean, 'you can't do this'? Alex?"

She stopped at the exit, and in her eyes I saw an emotion I couldn't place. I caught glimpses of hurt, pain, and regret swirling around in her dark eyes before her walls slammed up and left me locked out of her mind. "What the_ fuck, _Alex? I unload all my problems, and _you _run away?" I was more than slightly hurt at her reaction, hence the cursing. I thought we were connecting before she pulled away so abruptly.

"You're right, okay? We're taking this _way _too fast. In fact, I'm not taking this anywhere." She said in a low tone, turning for the door again. I caught her wrist and gripped it firmly, not allowing her to walk away. Briefly, I wondered what I was doing. Why should it matter to me so much if she walked away? We weren't dating or anything. She looked at me, long and hard. Finally, she said, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I replied instantly. My answer surprised both of us, for I could see her shock written on her face and in those eyes. Those dark, expressive eyes that seemed to pull at my soul. We had known each other for a day. How could I trust her as much as I did already?

"Don't," she stated grimly, trying to unwrap my fingers from around her wrist as she did so. I gave her a confused look, not understanding what she meant, but refused to let go of her wrist. Her skin was warm under my hand, and I felt a tingly feeling spread through my body as I continued to hold her wrist. Hastily, I wrenched my attention back to what she was saying.

"It's not you, it's me," she explained, her face scrunching in frustration. I arched my eyebrow, giving her a look that said, 'that is the lamest thing I've ever heard'. Her eyes seemed to agree with me, replying silently, 'I know.' She ran her free hand over her face and through her hair in a clear sign of exasperation. Whether it was directed at me or at herself, I was unsure of. "Ugh, I'm serious, Mitchie. You shouldn't get too close, because that's what my completely fucked-up brain lives for: an excuse; a way to get in, and then get out before things turn serious. I'm not a relationship kind of person."

It felt like a knife had been plunged into my heart, and I let go of her wrist as if it burned me. "If that's how you feel," I said tonelessly, shrugging as I did so. I was trying not to allow her to see how I was feeling inside, so I avoided her gaze. _So that's it, _I thought. _She doesn't want me._ It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I was hurt nonetheless. I really liked her. I looked back into her eyes and couldn't help but add, somewhat hopefully, "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

She smiled softly. "Friends is a great place to be," she admitted sadly. However, her tone also sounded somewhat hopeful to me, and I wondered if I had imagined that simply to keep the hope I had in my chest alive.

My heart broke, but I knew that I'd rather just be friends than not talk to her at all. I resisted the urge to grab her hand. "Okay," I said. I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness course through my body. It was more powerful than anything I had felt before; even stronger than the thought of my last breakup, which had haunted me for months after it had occurred.

This time, I knew I could see the sadness in her eyes as she repeated my words softly, "Okay."

**Alex's POV**

I didn't sleep that night. My head was too full of thoughts concerning Mitchie to allow me to go to sleep. _Just friends,_ I repeated to myself. I glanced at the alarm clock propped up on my bedside table. 1:30 A.M., it read. Stifling a groan, I kicked my sheets back. Sleep just wouldn't find me tonight. I sneaked a quick glance at Mitchie's sleeping form as I crept outside.

After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a few minutes, I was standing outside Justin's window. Glancing around, I found a couple of rocks. Stooping, I scooped them up. This was just so cliché, and more than a little weird. How many other teenage girls could say that they had tossed rocks at their brother's window like all the 80's movies show?

"Justin!" I hissed, tossing the rocks so that they bounced off the window frame.

"Alex?" he said sleepily. "Is that you? And if it is, _what the hell _do you think you're doing?"

"I needed to talk," I confessed, bouncing on the balls of my feet anxiously. There were just some moments that I needed my big brother, and this was definitely one of them.

"And you had to do it at…_1:35 in the morning?!_" he asked incredulously.

"Sorry…I couldn't sleep," I confessed.

I heard him groan softly, before his bed creaked and he slipped out the door. I smiled triumphantly and moved around to the front of the cabin.

"A lot on your mind, huh?" he asked, sitting down on the cabin step and gesturing for me to sit next to him. Whatever Justin's faults were, he was always there when I really needed him, and I felt a near-overwhelming sense of gratitude towards him. _I really don't thank him enough, _I realized as I sat down on the worn wooden step.

I blew out a breath. "Yeah, I guess. " I looked at him. "I couldn't do it, Justin," I admitted. His face showed his confusion, and I continued softly. "She was willing to…to be with me, and I walked away. I don't want to hurt her." I locked eyes with him. He looked at me in surprise. "Mitchie, she's just so different than anyone else I've ever been attracted to. With her, I don't feel a drive just to get in and get out. And that scares me more than anything."

He didn't say anything; just pulled me into a warm hug. We sat staring at the moon until I fell into sleep's deep embrace.

**AN 2: So here it is...I hope that this chapter was enjoyed despite it being a little shorter than the previous chapters. Feedback is always welcome...Mitchie and Alex are making a go of just being friends. How does everyone feel about that? Review pretty please, and I will be back with an update as soon as I can. I have finals this week and will need to devote the majority of my time to that, but if I get, say, five reviews between the rest of today and tomorrow morning, I will post another chapter as soon as I am notified about the fifth review. If not, well, I'll be back after the week is just about up. And again, thanks for continuing to read this story, I really appreciate it.**


	5. Chapter 5

Change of Heart

Ch. 5

**AN 1: Wow, guys, that was a pretty fast response. So, as promised, here is the next chapter. Good thing I had it already done, yes? I feel like I should start responding to some of the reviews (I'm sorry for not doing it sooner, it totally slipped my mind), so that will start up this chapter. Thank you again to all who have read/reviewed/favorited/followed this story. It's a good feeling to see it being appreciated. And as promised, this chapter is longer than the previous one.**

**Nightingale11: I think Alex is just someone who is outwardly immature, but really mature underneath all of the facade. We'll see how this goes. So far that aspect has had some mixed reviews.**

**Rocky94 (who is a guest, but left a name so I know who to address): I'm really glad you think it's so good; it's been a work in progress for a long time and I was super excited to post it.**

**XxxPrettyLittleLiarsLoverxxX: I know, it's kinda frustrating. But all in good time, promise. The next few chapters get pretty interesting, so be on the lookout!**

**Demenaforever13: It gets better, I promise! Thank you for your reviews, by the way. I'm pretty sure you've posted one every chapter and that means a lot to me.**

** : Lol, I know what you mean. It's a fine line between being responsible and just being too stubborn to see that they should be more in my opinion. I think Mitchie will surprise you in this chapter...be sure to let me know what you think!**

**And to any other guests who reviewed: Thanks for the response! If you leave a name when you review I will definitely try to address you in the next chapter!**

**Anyways, I still don't own anything, and I doubt that will change any time soon. Here's chapter five. Enjoy!**

**Mitchie's POV**

I opened my eyes as sunlight streamed through the window next to me. Groaning, I shifted to get the sun out of my eyes, noticing Alex's unmade bed. A note rested on my nightstand, and still half-asleep, I read over it.

_Dear Mitchie, _it read. _If I'm not around by the time you get up it's because I'm now on kitchen duty. See you at breakfast. –Alex_

I ran a hand through my hair as her words from last night spun around my mind. 'Just friends,' she had said, but little things like this seemed more romantic than just friendly. Maybe I was just imagining that it was though. She had seemed pretty set on the idea last night.

I jumped as Caitlyn's hand rapped on the cabin door. "Mitchie?"

"Yeah," I called, trying to sound like my usual happy-go-lucky self, and failing miserably.

Caitlyn bounced into the room, dragging Tess behind her. "Soooo…" she said, plopping unceremoniously down beside me. "How'd it go last night?"

"It didn't," I mumbled, finding the floorboards suddenly captivating.

"What?!" Tess and Caitlyn yelled simultaneously, making me flinch.

"She just wants to be friends," I said, close to tears.

Caitlyn pulled me into a warm hug. "Well," Tess said, "guess this means Peggy and Ella were right when they said she was a heartbreaker."

I stiffened. "It's not like that," I said, pulling away from Caitlyn. Internally, I wondered why I was defending her.

"Mitch," Caitlyn said softly, "Alex's just like -"

"No! She's not like Shane!" I cried, getting even more worked up. How they could even _suggest _Alex being remotely similar to Shane was beyond me, and it was making me mad. Alex was sweet, funny, talented, and beautiful.

'Just like Shane' a voice whispered in my mind. Shane had been all those things too, at least until I had caught him cheating on me. I still remembered the scene leading to our breakup like it had happened yesterday; Nate had invited me to visit them while on tour, and when I walked into their bus, I caught him with his pants down and in between some other girl's legs. I shook my head, trying to drive out the little voice lurking in the back of my mind. _Alex wasn't like that at all_, I told myself firmly. She couldn't be.

"No," I repeated. "She doesn't want to be more than friends because she's not a relationship person; and she doesn't want to hurt me."

Tess's and Caitlyn's faces mirrored each other, clearly saying 'if you say so', but also silently telling me that they thought it was a load of bullshit in their opinion.

**Alex's POV**

I woke to find myself snuggled deep into Justin's bed sheets. Blinking sleepily, I glanced at his alarm clock. 6:30 A.M., it read. In half an hour, I'd have to report to the kitchen for my new 'job'. Groaning, I ripped myself away from the warm bed and pulled one of Justin's v-neck t-shirts on over my basketball shorts.

Carefully, so as not to wake his roommate – Jake, I think is what his name was – I pulled Justin's limp – and at the moment, dead-to-the-world – form onto the bed and crept out the door as quietly as possible. I breathed in the warm California air, enjoying the moment despite the deep guilt I still felt because of the hurt I had already caused Mitchie.

"Hey," a male voice called out from my left.

Turning, I saw a couple of boys standing by a tree. "What do you want?" I called back, deciding to just cut to the chase. I was in no mood for dealing with bullshit today.

"Aww, we're just trying to be friendly," he said in mock hurt. "Maybe you should come and hang out with us today. You certainly didn't seem to have a problem with spending the night with the boys in that cabin." He took a step closer, his friend flanking him. "I'm Mike, by the way, and this is Nick."

Rolling my eyes, I stepped of the porch and headed towards the kitchen. "Don't count on it," I called over my shoulder. Stupid boys; there was only one person I was interested in hanging out with, and that was Mitchie.

When I entered the kitchen, a warm voiced greeted me from the left. "You must be my new helper," a woman called, whisking a large bowl of eggs. "I'm Connie Torres."

"Alex Russo," I replied, glancing around the large kitchen. "Where do you want me, Mrs. Torres?" I asked, my polite tone startling me. Since when was I polite?

Mrs. Torres laughed and set the bowl of eggs down. "Mrs. Torres is my mother-in-law, sweetie. Call me Connie," she said, handing me an apron as she did so. "Well, Alex, I'm glad you got here at a decent time; breakfast is always pretty busy. Thanks for coming in, even though I know you didn't volunteer for this."

Her cheerful demeanor reminded me painfully of Mitchie, but I found myself smiling at her despite my still-guilty conscience. "I don't mind, Connie," I said, pulling on the apron. The strangest part of that sentence was that I really meant it. The morning passed quickly; Mitchie's mom was very easy to get along with, and I found myself making small talk with her as we worked.

"Alright, that should do it," she said as we loaded the last batch of pancakes and eggs onto separate platters. "Thanks for your help, Alex. It was really nice getting to know my daughter's roommate."

I smiled at her as I hung up my apron. "It wasn't a problem. I had a pretty good time, actually. Just…don't tell my mom I said that," I joked. She would probably either have a heart attack at the confession or put me to work more often. "I'll see you at lunch," I called as I headed out the door leading to the dining room.

**Mitchie's POV**

"Hey, roomie," Alex said with a smile as she slid onto the bench beside me.

I looked up from my pancakes, a smile blossoming on my face for the first time this morning. "Hey," I replied. _We're just friends, _I repeated to myself, trying to ignore the butterflies I felt in my stomach as she scooted closer to me.

"So, I was thinking...we haven't really gotten to know each other," Alex said conversationally, seeming to be completely unaware of what her words were doing to my heart. "Maybe during lunch we can…I dunno, go for a swim or something?"

I glanced over to Caitlyn's table, where her, Tess, Peggy, Ella, Barron, and Sander all stared – or rather, glared – at Alex before turning my gaze back to the other girl's. A wry smile twisted her lips. "I take it your friends don't like me all that much," she said casually, picking at the apple she had in her hands in what I assumed was a nervous gesture.

I leaned forward and plucked the apple out of her hands. "You guessed right," I said as I bit into the apple, causing her to stare. Internally, I smirked. Score one for Team Torres. "But I don't care; I'd love to."

She looked down at her plate. "Look, Mitch, I'm sorry about last night," she said in a low, husky voice, "but…I really don't want this to end badly, and if that means I have to stick with just being your friend, then that's what I'll do."

I blinked, surprised at the open honesty in her voice, before casting around for a lighter, much less painful subject. "So, kitchen duty on the first week, huh? What'd you do? And I hope my mom wasn't too embarrassing."

She let loose a laugh, causing my knees to turn to jelly. "Oh, I showed up for my guitar class twenty minutes late," she said, grinning mischievously. "And no," she said as she buttered her pancakes, "your mom is actually a pretty cool lady. I think she likes me."

"From your expression, I'm gonna guess you get into trouble a lot and that showing up late for class isn't exactly new for you," I quipped. Internally, I smiled at her comment about my mom. If Mom liked her, then Alex couldn't be as big of a troublemaker as everyone said.

Her smile grew even wider, making me thankful that I was sitting, because otherwise I would've collapsed due to what her brilliant smile was making me feel. "You have no idea," she replied.

**Alex's POV**

"You did _what_?!" Justin hissed, staring at me open-mouthed. We were currently sitting in the back of our guitar class, waiting on Brown to show up.

"I asked her to go for a swim with me," I repeated with a shrug.

"Alex, I thought you really liked this girl," he whisper-yelled.

"I do," I answered honestly. I thought about the few kisses we had shared, and how I felt like I was floating ten feet off the ground when her soft lips were against mine; like she thought I'd disappear if she didn't put everything she had into it. I thought about her soft skin, and how her fingers felt when we were hand-in-hand or when they tangled themselves in my hair. I thought about the way her hair smelled and felt under my fingers. I thought about everything I could, which wasn't hard, because in the short amount of time I have known Mitchie, I already knew her better than I knew myself.

"So _why_ are you doing this? If you liked her so much, you wouldn't lead her on like this," Justin said with a huff.

"I am not _leading her on_," I shot back, offended. I had led girls on before, sure, but I wouldn't do the same to Mitchie. She was special. "We're going as friends."

Justin gave me a look that clearly told me he wasn't buying my story before turning to face the front. We were just going as friends, but in my heart I knew I wanted us to be more, and I was more than certain that she did too.

**Mitchie's POV**

"Ready?" Alex suddenly breathed into my ear as I exited my dance class, causing me to jump a foot into the air.

"Don't do that!" I exclaimed, playfully hitting her shoulder, which caused her to smile her radiant smile and my knees to weaken once again.

"I'm sorry," she said, her smile faded and she gave me a look that told me she was serious. Her warm hand grabbed mine, and I felt the place where her fingers touched me burn pleasantly. "Let me make it up to you." I decided right there that I loved Alex's eyes. They were raw and expressive, and I found myself drowning in the deep brown depths.

I didn't bother pointing out that the way she was holding my hand was way too familiar to be considered 'just friends'. I liked the way her hand felt in mine. "O-Okay," I stuttered out. Smooth, Torres, really smooth.

Alex's eyes lit up, and laughing she pulled me down to the dock. "Come on," she said, pulling her t-shirt and shorts off to reveal a black bikini. After a moment's hesitation, due to my inability to tear my eyes away from her flawless body, my clothes were off as well. Alex gave a yell and dove into the lake, and laughing, I followed.

We floated on the surface, closer than what I normally would've been, but not touching, when a voice disrupted the peaceful silence, causing me to sit up as it sounded across the lake. "Hey, baby."

Alex groaned and sat up as well. "Damn," she muttered. "It's those idiots from this morning." She floated closer to me, so that our foreheads were touching.

"What're you doing?" I whispered, scared at how close she was and how badly I wanted to kiss her.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "I know this is super awkward, but can you pretend I'm kissing you? I don't want them to think they have a chance with me."

I didn't bother trying to say no; for Alex, I'd jump into a volcano with only an ice cube to protect me. Instead, I leaned forward and mumbled, "Might as well make it convincing," before capturing her lips with mine.

I expected her to fight back, or at least not respond. What I didn't expect was for her to lean into the kiss as well, draw me closer, and tangle her hands into my hair. But I did know one thing: I was definitely not going to complain. Maybe she wasn't as uninterested in me as she told me, but I wasn't going to argue about it. I wanted this; to feel her body close to me and her lips moving against mine. If I had been thinking properly, I would've stopped, knowing that this would just hurt me more after it was over, but I couldn't…this just felt too right, too special and magical for me to end it.

**AN 2: Cliffhanger of sorts? Why not? I will be back as soon as my finals are over with another chapter, so I hope no one is super mad about this ending...if so...well, everything will come together eventually! I really want to hear the response to this though, so what do you guys think? Should Mitchie have kissed Alex? Or, better yet, should Alex have even suggested the ploy to begin with? Review pretty please; it makes for a happy writer!**


	6. Chapter 6

Change of Heart

Ch. 6

**AN 1: Ahhhhhh! I know I said this would be posted a week ago, but I lost my Internet and have just gotten a reliable connection again. It was not intentional, I swear. Anyways, here is chapter six, and I've been doing a lot of editing to the chapter before posting it, so I hope it is appreciated despite the delay. Now to the review shout outs:**

**Sue: I couldn't agree more with you. Even if you fight it, love has a way of sneaking up on you. And Mitchie and Alex are just great together, so I'm glad you think Mitchie did the right thing. Thank you for the good luck on my finals, by the way.**

**Nightingale11: I think everyone has a little confidence in them that is just waiting to come out, so I was really excited to write that part for Mitchie. She can definitely be bold when the occasion calls for it.**

** : Mitchie does know what she wants, and is just waiting for Alex to come to her senses and figure out that they both want the same thing. But don't worry, I think Alex will come to that realization sooner rather than later.**

**Demenaforever13: And I thank you again, because it's a really good thing to see a positive review.**

**ohsupwhassup: Yeah, I know what you mean...the two of them are just great together. Don't worry though, all will be resolved in time.**

**XxxPrettyLittleLiarsLoverxxX: Thank you! Happy cliffhangers are good...I just hope you don't hate me too much for the way this chapter will end. I will be uploading chapter seven a lot sooner than this one was though, so maybe that'll help. **

**Now that the shout outs are done...on to chapter six! And once again...I own nothing. Sadly. Anyways, you get my point.**

**Mitchie's POV**

Caitlyn and Tess sat across from me at dinner, both their faces livid. "So, Mitchie, I thought you said Alex just wanted to be friends," Caitlyn said, waving her fork in my direction as she did so. "So why on earth did we see you kissing each other in the lake?"

Tess dropped her face into her hands, embarrassed by her girlfriend's bluntness. "Thank you, Ms. Not So Subtle," she said pointedly after she had looked back up.

"Look, guys, I know what I said," I said patiently, "but I didn't mean to kiss her, it just kinda…happened. There's just something about her that I can't resist. She pulls to me in a way I've never felt before."

Caitlyn gave me a long, measured look before saying, "Look, Mitch, you're my best friend, I don't want you to get hurt. And if that means telling you this Alex girl is bad for you, then I will."

Tess jumped in before I was able to formulate a response. "Mitchie, we all know how you are; you fall for the other person so hard you don't know how to get back up again." Caitlyn shot her a thankful glance, irritating me at how they thought I didn't know this. I was well aware of how I was; the whole Shane fiasco had proven that to me. After the inevitable breakup, I ended up moping for months before I had been able to move on. But I had a feeling that Alex was different. Shane had admitted to keeping up an image, but when it was all said and done, it turned out that he was the jerk he had been portraying all along. I couldn't help but feel that Alex was also keeping up an image, and I couldn't help but want to uncover what kind of person was lurking underneath this image she was portraying herself as. I wanted to know the real Alex Russo, because something told me that she wasn't what she appeared to be.

"Guys," I said angrily. "I told you, it wasn't planned or anything. I know I could get hurt, okay? I just want to spend as much time with her as I can, for as long as I can, that's all." I stood, not wanting to hear them tell me what a huge mistake I was making for the hundredth time.

"Okay," Tess said, cutting Caitlyn off. "You're right, Mitch; who are we to tell you what to do? You do what you gotta do. Just remember, we'll be here for you if anything goes wrong." The sincerity in her voice made me want to hug her. I stood with my unfinished plate in hand; all this Alex talk made me want to talk to my mom. She would know what to do and was always honest with me. I needed that parental clarity now more than ever.

"Thanks," I said honestly, surprised at how accepting Tess was acting about the whole situation I had found myself in. "For understanding; it means a lot to me."

"Just realize how hard this is for us," Caitlyn said earnestly as I began to leave for the kitchen. "It's almost like watching you put a gun to your head."

_Well isn't that a cheerful thought, _I thought bitterly as I moved into the kitchen. Tess might be accepting, but Caitlyn was a whole different matter. She couldn't seem to stop rubbing my past mistakes in my face. I knew in my heart that she was just trying to look out for me, but I couldn't help feeling extremely annoyed by the approach that she was taking. It wasn't a productive way to handle the situation. "Hey, Mom," I called as I walked into the kitchen. "Is it okay if I finish eating in here?"

"Of course it is," she replied, moving cupcakes onto a large platter as she spoke. "Did something happen?"

"No…" I mumbled, but under her knowing look, changed my answer. "Well, kind of."

"Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?" she asked, setting the platter down and looking towards me with a concerned look.

"I, well, I kind of like Alex, Mom," I confessed. My parents knew I had dated boys before, but had always told me 'if you're gay, it's okay', so I had no qualms about talking to her about my not-so-little crush on the dark-haired girl.

She smiled at me. "Good," she said, causing me to look at her in confusion. "Alex seems like a really wonderful girl. I like her much better than I ever liked that Shane character."

Her statement caused me to laugh, despite how upset I still was. "There's just one – or maybe more than one – problem," I said. "None of my friends think it's a good idea to date her, and Alex herself has told me that she isn't a relationship kind of person."

My mom brushed some stray bangs out of my face gently. "Mitchie, I don't know if you know this, but Alex and I talk while we prepare the meals. She talks about you quite a bit." Her confession caused me to look up hopefully. Maybe there was hope for an 'us' in the future after all. "If she isn't a relationship person," Mom said softly, "then I think she might become one if you work at her hard enough. She seems to really like you."

**Alex's POV**

"You did _what_?!" Justin asked, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"We kissed," I whispered, somewhat guiltily. Yes, I had enjoyed it. More than anything I had ever experienced before; but I did say we were supposed to be friends. Just friends, no room for discussion, end of story. Yet all I could do was replay the kiss in my mind over and over. Her lips were still as soft and sweet as I remembered, and the kiss wasn't like anything else I had ever felt. She didn't give me a kiss that screamed 'let's fuck'. She gave me a kiss that said 'I like you. I hope you like me too. Can we become more than this?' and I found myself desperately wanting to become more than what we were. What had this girl done to me?

"Alex!" Justin exclaimed, snapping me out of my inner musings. "What happened to 'just being friends'?"

"I didn't start it," I shot back, sounding like a five-year-old. "She kissed me. I just happened to kiss back. I swear, I couldn't help it; she's a _really_ good kisser." _Way to go, Russo, _I thought. _Make it sound like you're just in it for the physical aspect of it, just like you always do._ "I'm not messing with her, Justin. She pulls to me in a way I've never felt before, not even when I was still in the dating game."

He gave me his patented I-don't-believe-you look. "Alex, you are totally messing with her, intentionally or not." He held up a finger to keep me from interrupting his speech. "Look, either you're serious about being 'just friends'," he looked at me, and I could hear the quotes around the just friends part, "or you're not, but either way, you're gonna mess her over. She's going to have to deal with the fallout either way, and really this whole back-and-forth thing you guys have going on is not fair to her. And if you really mean what you said about her drawing to you," he finished, softening his voice and giving me a sympathetic smile, "then you just need to be up-front with her. Who knows? You might make a relationship with this girl last. You certainly talk about her differently than any other girl I've heard you talk about in the past."

I sucked in a breath and stared past him. "I know," I admitted. "And what scares me is that I'm starting to have second thoughts about staying away from her, even though I know how I am. Mitchie…she's not like everyone else I've been with. She's a fall in love kind of girl, the kind of girl you bring home to meet your family. She loves for the strings to get attached, I can tell. And I'm afraid I'm going to break her." I ran my fingers through my hair. "But what's worse," I continued, moving my food around on my plate as I spoke, "is that I think I'm starting to feel the same way about her."

The scrapping of chairs and benches against the floor pulled me from my reverie and signaled that it was time to go to back to our cabins for the night. Stifling a sigh, I followed Justin out of the lodge, my thoughts still filled with the beauty that is Mitchie Torres.

**Mitchie's POV**

"Okay, guys," Brown called as we finished singing at our next lesson. "Great job, same time tomorrow."

I walked out of class and headed for the lodge, feeling like nothing could drag me down. I could still feel Alex's lips on mine, despite the kiss being over hours ago, and the thought of her made my head spin around.

I was up on cloud nine. My thoughts were filled with Alex; her warm, expressive eyes, her soft lips and gentle hands. Every little detail about her I could think of, I did. That would explain why I didn't notice the thick rope in front of my feet.

I tumbled to the ground in a heap, cracking the skin under my right eye on a rock as I fell and feeling numerous other cuts and bruises start to form as I rolled away from the rope. A large bucket of something wet and somewhat slimy – paint, I faintly realized – splashed over my body and clothes after I rolled to a stop. Dazed, I looked up at the sky, wondering how this had happened. Everything before this had been going fantastically.

A male voice, which belonged to one of the boys from the lake incident, spoke over me. "Just stay away from her. Stay away from Alex Russo."

**AN 2: Well, there it is. I hope this chapter was actually worth the wait, and I apologize again for the delay in posting it. I do have most of the story done, and an abundance of free time now, so be on the lookout for the next chapter soon! And, as always, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Do you think Alex will freak if she discovers what happened to Mitchie? What will happen to the 'pranksters' after she finds out? Drop me a line to share your thoughts, comments, or whatever. **


	7. Chapter 7

Change of Heart

Ch. 7

**AN 1: First off, I'd like to say I am so incredibly sorry for being gone for so long. It wasn't intentional; my Internet is still having all kinds of problems (because I live out in the boondocks were reliable internet is extremely hard to come by, even today. Go figure), and then I ended up going on a two week trip overseas to visit my grandparents, which meant I had absolutely none of my documents with me. To make this up to anyone who is still interested in this story, I will be posting two chapters today. Again, I'm extremely sorry guys! I truly did not mean to leave you hanging for so long! I'm beyond excited to be back though, and have most of this story finished, so hopefully that will prompt a quicker update time. And now that I've said that, I need to say I hope that you guys really like this chapter; it's definitely been modified a lot since I first wrote it and I hope that it's appreciated despite the long delay. I even made it longer than all my other chapters so far, so hopefully that will help with the possible hate. Once again, I own absolutely nothing.**

**Sue: I'm really happy that you liked the previous chapter! That's always a beyond wonderful thing to hear, and that's why I try to take the time to reply to those who have reviewed. Your reviews are always very kind, and I'm extremely grateful for that. Keep them coming! And I couldn't agree with you more! Alex is head-over-heels for this girl, and anyone who messes with that has another thing coming to them. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Trainwreck2212: Haha, I've gotta keep you guys on your toes somehow, right? Maybe this chapter will be a step in the right direction! Let me know what you think!**

** : Well, we would all like to see that I think. Only time will tell though, I suppose. I'm super glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope you'll enjoy this one just as much. And I'm happy to be back again, hopefully the long waits won't be happening now that I'm on summer break and have no more really intense travel plans haha :)**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: It's great to hear from you again...I hope I don't disappoint with this story and you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for the review.  
**

**Demenaforever13: I'm glad you liked it! Like I've said before, you leave reviews all the time and I really appreciate it. Asses will be taken care of, but I'm not for sure I'm 100% satisfied with how I did it, so if you (or anyone really) has any ideas on that, let me know! I'm definitely open to suggestions.**

**Now, onto the story. Enjoy, guys.**

**Alex's POV**

I walked out of the kitchen as my 'shift', as Justin called it, finished. My head was spinning, filled with the conversation I had last had with him, and of thoughts of Mitchie.

Mitchie.

I didn't want to hurt her. I don't think I could survive with that knowledge if I did hurt her. But I didn't want to be without her either. It was a delicate situation, one I was sure I would manage to screw up in one way or another. The words 'Alex Russo' and 'delicate' simply did not mix, and anyone back home would be able to confirm this for me. Hell, even my family would happily confirm this if asked.

"Just stay away from her," a rough voice said from somewhere to my left. "Stay away from Alex Russo." My interest, already perked because of the way the first sentence was said, increased tenfold as I heard my name. I turned suddenly, headed for the sound of that vaguely familiar voice.

I passed another tree, to find the owner of the voice standing over Mitchie; my Mitchie, sprawled in the dirt and covered in paint. I lost it.

"What the fuck?!" I burst out, moving towards the fallen girl before me. The boy looked towards me, startled, and I finally recognized him: the boy who had been hitting on me earlier in the week, Mike. Casting my eyes around, I saw the other boy, Nick, not far away.

I stepped forward, my body trembling in fury. It took all my willpower not to deck him in the jaw. Without another word, I pulled Mitchie gently to her feet and wrapped an arm securely around her waist. "Come on," I said tenderly, voice deathly calm despite the rage I felt flooding through my veins. I sent an acid glare over my shoulder at the two boys. "I'll deal with you dickheads later." I saw them both flinch in response to the venom in my voice, and smirked internally. Payback is a bitch, and I wasn't going to have any mercy on those two.

As soon as we cleared the trees, Mitchie stirred. "Alex, I don't want to get paint on you," she said, pulling away slightly.

"Shh," I murmured, my voice tight despite the underlying caring tone. "Come on, don't fight me. Let's get you cleaned up." I snuck a glance at her, noticing how her fingers gripped my shirt like it was the only thing on this earth left to keep her here. "My priority here is making sure you aren't traumatized, Mitchie; don't worry about me. It's only clothes, and I've got a way to get the paint out, okay? I'll sneak you into the lodge showers. They have hot water."

She stumbled as I spoke, and I tightened my grip around her waist even more. I wasn't going to let the girl beside me fall. I would be there for her in the only way I could now, and take care of her despite my deep desire to go back and tear those two jackasses a new one. _Mitchie was what mattered now_, I reminded myself. Only Mitchie.

**Mitchie's POV**

I couldn't believe this was happening. How things had gotten so out of hand was beyond me. It was like a veil of darkness had dropped in front of my eyes. I remembered how in the seventh grade I had been bullied; and the paint incident that had just occurred brought all the pain back. Then Alex came; and out of the darkness I could see her brilliant light, guiding me. I had to hold onto that, because otherwise I would drown in the depths of darkness I suddenly found myself sinking in.

I felt disconnected from my body as we moved towards the lodge, and I tripped over my feet several times as we walked. I glanced towards Alex's face, noticing her tight face and locked jaw. I had never seen her so deathly silent, and it scared me to witness this side to her. _Now I understood why she was considered a troublemaker at home_, I realized. When she wanted to, Alex Russo could become beyond simply 'scary'. Her face no longer held the playful gaze I had come to know and love, but a new mask of anger that I didn't recognize. And her eyes – those dark, expressive eyes that I had come to love – appeared to be even darker than usual in her anger. In that moment, she reminded me of an angel of darkness; dark and beautiful and dangerous.

Alex caught me staring at her and gave me a reassuring smile, dispelling any misgivings I had with that single gesture. "I've got you, Mitch," she said gently. She seemed to realize that her face was revealing her internal anger and those dark, dark eyes lightened as she smiled at me. "I'm sorry; that scene just made me so incredibly angry," she admitted as we walked. "But I won't let them hurt you again, I promise." She stared into my eyes as she spoke, as if she was trying to simply will me to understand what she was saying. "I've got you," she repeated softly. "I won't let you go."

_She's got me,_ I realized, and allowed her to tighten her arms over me in a comforting manner. She's got me.

"Alex," a voice called out to us as we moved past the kitchen. I winced as I recognized my mother's voice. "Is that _Mitchie?" _she asked, panicked. I heard her footsteps drawing closer to us as she spoke.

I whimpered, gripping Alex's arm tightly. "I don't want her to see this," I cried softly, fighting back tears. My mom knew how much I had been hurt by the bullies I had encountered in the past. If she saw this she was sure to freak out. I was already internally freaking out; if she started to as well I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it and would have a complete breakdown.

Her warm chocolate eyes found mine, and she shook her head, gently telling me not to fight her. "Trust me, Mitch," she said. "I'll take care of you. But your mom is worried about you. I won't let you go, even if she tries to make me, I promise."

Mom appeared next to my side and carefully examined my face. I was thankful that the paint obscured most of the black eye I could feel forming. "Oh, my sweetie," she called gently, caressing my face tenderly. "What happened?"

"Two dumbasses decided to prank her," Alex's voice said harshly. "I found her after it happened."

My mom hissed in annoyance. "I see." She then looked at me apologetically. "I'm in the middle of preparing lunch. I was actually coming to see if Alex was going to show up when I saw you two. I can't possibly get away though." She had turned to Alex as she spoke. "Alex," she began imploringly.

"I'll take care of her," Alex replied firmly. "Don't worry about a thing, Connie. I won't let anything else happen to her." I felt my heart leap in my chest despite the still-numb feeling I felt throughout most of my body. If this didn't prove that Alex cared about me, I didn't know what would.

We parted after that, and Alex led me to the room where my mom stayed.

**Alex's POV**

Silently, I pulled Mitchie into the lodge's shower. "Okay," I whispered, letting out a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding. "If you need anything, I'll be right here." I said, looking into Mitchie's eyes.

She nodded and I reluctantly let go of her waist. After she had entered the shower, I turned so that my back was pressed against the door. I heard the water hiss, and another sound I couldn't quite identify. Turning my head to press my ear to the door, I recognized it as the sound of tears. Mitchie was crying.

After a second of hesitation, I pushed through the door. Yes, I was fully aware Mitchie was in the shower. Did it matter? No. I like to think that if it was me in there, she'd to the same. I remember lying awake in our cabin one night and how she told me she had experienced bullying before, and how badly it hurt her. Mitchie needed me, and that was all that mattered.

I walked in, noticing the large amount of steam rising from the shower. Slowly, I pulled off my clothes and slipped into the shower. I didn't stop to think of the possible ramifications of my actions as I appeared next to her. I didn't remind myself that this was clearly overstepping the carefully constructed - although somewhat blurry - boundaries of 'friends' that we seemed to be operating under. I simply looked at her, and knew that I had made the right choice in coming in after her. I could tell that the water was scalding hot and Mitchie simply stood under the water, letting it leave angry red trails on her otherwise flawless skin.

Gently, I pressed myself against her, her back to my front, and used my body to shield her from the hot water. I bit my lip harshly to prevent a hiss of pain from escaping my mouth at the temperature. I felt her stiffen at first, before she slowly relaxed into my grip. "Are you trying to burn yourself?" I asked softly.

Slowly, she turned so that she was facing me, and I noticed for the first time the bruised skin under her right eye and the various cuts running up and down her arms. "It hurts," she said brokenly, tears she had been fighting back welling up in her eyes.

I pulled her closer, and placed a soft kiss under her eye before I turned down the water temperature to a more bearable level. "I know," I mumbled into her hair.

She broke down, sobbing into my shoulder. I tightened my grip even more, and whispered things to her; things I had said a hundred times before, but never before meant. "I'll take care of you," I told her softly. "You don't have to be alone if you don't want to be; I'll look after you." Over and over again I told her these things as I held her against me, dimly realizing that for all my past experience, I had never actually comforted a girl in the way I was now. It was an experience that I wouldn't give up for the world. All that mattered to me was the girl in my arms.

At one point, she pulled back and choked out, "I'm sorry."

I pulled her closer to me and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay," I whispered. "Just let it out, Mitchie." She began crying harder, burying her face back into the crook of my neck. "I'm here, Mitch. It's gonna be okay. I'm not gonna let you go," I murmured, my lips brushing against her jaw.

How long we stayed like that I'm not sure, but eventually her tears stopped and I pulled back slightly to look at her. Slowly, giving her time to back away, I leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a needy kiss, filled with lust; but a soft kiss, telling her I would always be there for her. One hand rested on her waist, and the other reached behind her, causing her to pull away slightly.

I could see the panic rising in her brown eyes, causing me to blush slightly. Normally, I would've made a move by now. But I couldn't do that to the girl standing in front of me. She was too special for a quick and dirty encounter in a random shower. If we ever got to the point in our relationship where we were both ready to have sex, possibly even make love, I wanted it to be special. "I'm not going to do anything. I'll be good. Just getting the shampoo," I explained, honestly. My eyes peered into hers earnestly, silently telling her that I wouldn't take advantage of her like that. I wanted her, oh Lord I wanted her, but I was willing to wait forever for her.

I pulled the bottle down and handed it to her. She took it, and gently I brushed the bruised area of her eye with the pad of my thumb before placing a brief kiss on her lips and turning away. "I won't go unless you want me too," I said, staring at the wall. "I just figured you wanted to shower in peace."

She placed a kiss on my shoulder, causing me to internally shiver, and whispered, "Thank you." I kept my eyes fixed firmly towards the wall, determined not to mess this up. Whatever _this_ was, anyways. I'm unsure what to call it, and I'm pretty sure if I asked her what she thought this was that she would have no idea what to call it either. I don't think we could really say that friends really did this kind of thing for each other, especially after we had kissed so many times. After a few minutes, I felt her tap my shoulder, and I turned to face her again. "Will you wash my hair for me?" she asked shyly, holding the bottle towards me. "I can't seem to lift my arms that high at the moment."

I smiled slightly. "Of course," I replied, taking the bottle from her and squeezing a generous amount of the shampoo in my hand. I ran my hands through her hair, working the product in gently. After she rinsed the shampoo out, I proceeded to help her with the conditioner and even ended up helping her wash her back.

Despite my earlier doubts on whether or not I'd really be able to control myself, we didn't have shower sex. I didn't even really stare at her body. I just wanted her to know she wasn't alone. When she was done, I stepped out, toweled off, and pulled on the clothes that I had grabbed from our cabin – magic was a wonderful thing – on before she stepped out and did the same.

"So," she said, a little breathlessly, pulling her still-wet hair out of her t-shirt as she spoke. "Where does this leave us?"

I stared at her. It was safe to say that the 'friends' boundary was completely obliterated at this point. And that didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Looking into Mitchie's hopeful brown eyes made me realize that I was willing to try again with her. "I think," I said slowly, "that you should go on a date with me tonight, and then we'll see where we go from there."

**AN 2: Don't hate me for that cliffhanger too much guys, please! I did promise that I'll upload another chapter before the end of the night, so be on the lookout! You'll even learn a little more about Alex's background next time, for those who are interested. Again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm still sorry for my long absence. Drop me a line and let me know what you think, pretty please. You know I do enjoy reviews. Click that button and let me know what you thought! Unless no one is reading this anymore and I'm just talking to myself, which is totally possible...and I'm rambling. Before I embarrass myself further, I should just say: Darklighter out.**


	8. Chapter 8

Change of Heart

Ch. 8

**AN 1: Well, I did say I would post another chapter before morning, so here it is. I tried to offer insight into Alex's history a little here, so I hope that it's enjoyed. I also feel like I should warn people that this chapter does talk about cutting, so be warned. A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter seven. It really means a lot to me that people took the time to read it, especially after I was gone for so long. I'm trying to keep the author's note short, so now for the usual disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: I really don't blame you; it had been a while. The boys are assholes, but will be taken care of soon, promise. And I'm pretty proud of Alex too; something like that would take a lot of self-control, and she definitely wouldn't have done that before she met Mitchie.**

**Demenaforever13: I hope this chapter is awww-worthy as well.**

** : Thank you! Like I said, it was tweaked quite a bit, but I was very happy with the completed product.**

**Basketluv: Yay, I was worried there for a little bit, but the date is now here. I'm glad you thought this story follow-worthy, in any case.**

**RainbowVaneza: Thanks. Hope this chapter is just as good :)**

**MileyJakes: Alex has come quite a long way from where she was, and hopefully this chapter will explain why. I really liked writing that last scene though, so I'm glad you liked it.**

**Guest: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Thank you for the very kind review.**

**Anyways, now onto the chapter. Enjoy.**

**Mitchie's POV**

Caitlyn and Tess both gasped as I sat down across from them at dinner. Peggy, Ella, Barron, and Sander all stopped their conversations to stare at my face and arms. "What the hell happened?" Caitlyn demanded in a shocked voice.

"Huh?" I said, deciding to act like I didn't know what they were staring at. My shoulder began to burn as I scooted my chair closer to the table. After my shower encounter with Alex, we had realized that my shoulder was injured as well. Neither of us was entirely sure how badly it was, but considering that I could move it, I was pretty sure it was not disconnected and that I'd be able to use it normally in a few days. However, it was still yet another thing that I had to remind me of the 'prank' that had occurred hours ago. "Hello? Earth to Mitchie," Tess called, her eyes wide in concern. "You have a black eye."

"Not to mention a ton of scrapes on your arms," Peggy added.

"What the hell happened?" Caitlyn repeated, louder this time.

"Oh, um, well I kind of…tripped?" I offered. I really didn't want to make a big deal about this, and prayed that they would get the unspoken message in my voice. Alas, it was not meant to be.

"Mitchie," Sander said patiently. "We know you're a klutz," he started.

"But, girl, you're not _that _klutzy." Barron finished. _Well, so much for not making a big deal about this, _I thought in a resigned way.

"No kidding," Peggy and Ella said, collapsing into giggles as they said it at the same time. Caitlyn shot them a dark look, and they quieted instantly, mortified by the look they had just been given. Personally, I fought back a smile at their reactions; at least someone got the unspoken "let's not talk about it" message.

"Okay," I admitted, twisting a napkin in between my fingers as I spoke. "These two boys pulled a prank on me, and I really did trip because of it. I hit my eye on a rock, scratched up my arms, and messed up my shoulder a little or something like that when I fell. It's no big deal."

All six of them stared at me as if I had grown an extra head. "'No big deal'?" Caitlyn echoed, incredulously. "Mitchie, you have a freaking black eye and all you can say is 'no big deal'?"

A warm hand on my shoulder saved me from answering. "Hey you," Alex's voice whispered in my ear. "Ready to go?"

I stood, relieved that she was here. "Yeah," I answered, and before I could chicken out, grabbed her hand and twined our fingers together. Caitlyn looked livid as I said, "Sorry guys, I gotta go, but I'll explain later, okay?"

Alex led me out the door, her hand warm against mine. "I take it," she said, "that they were asking about your black eye?"

"Yes," I admitted, not caring for the hard edge in her voice. We were about to go on our first date; I didn't want her to torture herself with what-ifs. I wanted her to just enjoy the time we had together.

"I'm sorry," she said, her dark eyes revealing how tormented she really was about the incident as she looked at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"If I hadn't asked you to pretend we were together then, you wouldn't have been hurt," she whispered. Her face hardened as she spoke, reminding me of that scary version of Alex I had glimpsed when she found me.

"Alex," I said firmly, taking her face between my hands. "It's not your fault. Neither of us could have known that they would react like that to what they saw. And besides, I kissed you first. Cuts and bruises heal, and so will I. Okay?" She still looked doubtful, but I changed the subject. "Where are you taking me?"

Her dark eyes cleared as I cradled her face in my hands and she smiled that charming, crooked half-smile that made me melt inside. "It's a surprise," she said, "but I know you'll like it."

**Alex's POV**

I led Mitchie to a secluded spot I had found my first day here after I had been incapable of falling asleep. The spot was a small hike away from the main camping area, overlooking the lake. Trees formed a protective ring around the circular area, and I heard Mitchie suck in her breath as we entered the little grove, causing me to smile.

"Like it?" I asked, although I was sure of the answer.

"It's…beautiful," she breathed. She turned to the center of the ring, noting the blanket spread out on the ground and the picnic basket on top of it.

"I know, it's kinda cheesy," I said, moving closer to the center. I watched for her reaction carefully. I was beyond nervous at how she would react to my idea of a first date. I honestly don't think I had been this nervous on a date before, not even for the first date I'd ever been on. I had used magic - and a little help from Connie - to get the whole thing set up. Her hand was still clutched in mine, and I prayed that I wasn't sweating or in someway revealing just how nervous I actually was. That would be mortifying.

"I love it," she said, and I felt my heart soar. All throughout the meal we talked about nothing in particular; just anything that came to mind. I had never met a girl quite like her. She was just so easy to talk to, and beyond easy to become more enamored with. We talked about our dreams, and she surprised me on that front as well. Mitchie revealed to me that she was considering becoming a doctor, if she didn't make it into the music industry. She simply wanted to make a difference in the world in some way. I told her about my art and how that was the only thing I thought about really pursuing as a career, although I joked about becoming her groupie, which made her laugh that adorable laugh of hers. She made me promise to send her some of my work once I made it back to New York, which made my heart soar; no one had ever taken interest in that part of me before. After dinner was over, we lay back on the blanket, gazing at the stars. Well, Mitchie was; I however, was content with staring at her.

I lifted my hand, letting it drift across my eyes. Mitchie's hand gently seized my wrist and she brought it closer to her lips. I watched, shocked and amazed, as she placed gentle kisses on the thin white scars decorating the otherwise unblemished skin. No one had ever done anything like that before; they simply looked upon it as a mark of shame. Once again, Mitchie proved herself different, and I was hit with the overwhelming urge to tell her the whole truth as to why they were there, which was something else that was unusual. I had never really discussed this story with anyone. Even Justin only knew bits and pieces of it.

"You asked me once," I began, "why there are scars on my wrist."

She looked at me and nodded. "You said it was your way of dealing with the pain," she recalled.

"That was the partial truth," I admitted. "Do you want to hear the full story?" When she didn't say anything, I continued. I wanted her to understand this, to understand why I was the way I was. "There was this girl at school. She and I didn't get along; she was always trying to show me up. Turns out she liked me, and that was how she hid it. Anyways, we started to see each other; first as friends and later…something more."

She looked at me, "What happened?"

"We had sex," I said bluntly. "And after that, I…well, I wasn't the same. I was like a drug addict and sex was my fix, although I'm not sure why. I wanted more, sometimes more than what she was willing to give at the moment, and she found me with someone else. I broke her heart; I could see it in her eyes. The day after she caught me she moved away, and I haven't seen her since. Something changed in me after she left. It hurt so much, knowing I hurt her, when all I needed to do to keep her happy was stay faithful to her. So I went home, and that's the first time I ever intentionally cut myself. For the scars I put in her heart and the tears I made her cry, I placed a scar on my wrist. A mark for a mark, I guess." I gave her a small, self-deprecating smile. "I know it sounds weird, but it just seemed to make sense to me. I didn't feel like I deserved to just walk away without some kind of reminder of what I did."

She traced the faint lines with a fingertip. "That doesn't explain the others," she noticed.

"You see the thicker one, right there, and the two surrounding it?" I asked. When she nodded, I said, "Those are there for my best friend, Harper."

I blinked, and took a deep breath before explaining. "Harper was always different. She was just so out there; always wearing the most outlandish outfits that she had made herself. I remember one time she had a food outfit that was complete with an actual cupcake on her head. So I wasn't all that surprised when she asked me to help her figure out what 'label' she was. I couldn't say no to such an amazing friend, so I did. I took her out, treated her like I would want to be treated, and it wasn't long before we were considered a couple. Harper decided she was interested in girls, and after that I broke up with her, saying it was better to just stay friends."

Mitchie gave me a wry smile. "You seem to say that a lot," she teased lightly, poking me gently in the side as she did so.

I cracked a small, somewhat guilty smile, but it quickly faded as I continued. All the memories I had bottled up for so long began to tumble out of my mouth as I spoke. "She found someone she really liked, and we stayed best friends. One night, Jennifer and she were over at my house. Jennifer decided she wanted more than what Harper was willing to give at the moment, and decided to try to find it with me. By this time I had acquired a small rep for being a player in our school. She thought it would be easy, since I had done that kind of thing before with other girls. Harper walked in to find her kissing me, and ran out."

Mitchie said, "Just kissing, or like, heavy make-out kind of kiss?"

"Heavy make-out. She had been trying to get her hands in my pants as she did it, despite the fact that I never would have willingly done something like that to Harper," I said, causing her to wince in sympathy. "I kicked Jennifer out of the house and told her to never come back, then went after Harper. I just had a feeling like something was wrong. When I found her, she was in her bathtub, both wrists slit." I said, my eyes filling with hot tears as I recalled the rush to her house and the mad dash up the stairs to find Harper, face pale, her body cold, and all the deep red blood that decorated the white bathtub. It was an image that would haunt me to my dying day. "We called an ambulance, but it was too late; Harper was gone. When we found her suicide note, it said I was her first love, Jennifer her second and seeing both of us together was too much for her to handle. And it turned out that she had been fighting depression for a long time," I added softly. "I never realized it; Harper was just someone who seemed so full of life. But in the end, it was just too much for her."

Mitchie gasped softly, and blinking hard, I continued. "So I put those scars there to remind me every day of what I did. Even if she killed herself, I was the one who got her into girls, I was the one who introduced her to Jennifer, and I was the one who didn't stop her from running out that door. So I put them there, so I'll never, ever, forget. I felt so incredibly guilty, Mitch. I called Jennifer after the funeral. I told her what had happened, and how she should be ashamed of herself. She told me it sounded like I was the cause of all of it. After that I just didn't want to think or feel any more. So I just cut…and cut some more." I turned my head away from her in shame as I spoke. "I still feel the guilt every day."

Her voice faint, Mitchie traced another with the tip of her finger and asked, "And this one?"

"That was for the last girl I truly thought I could be with," I admitted. "Her name was Emily. She was the last girl I ever let close enough to break her heart. I'm not gonna give you the whole story; just know that after she left I promised myself I wouldn't break another girl's heart. After Emily, it was just get in long enough to get what I wanted, then get out; no more attempted relationships, no more heart-to-hearts, just one night stands." I blew out a breath. "I also promised her and Harper I would stop cutting. And for the most part, it worked. The others are from trying to relieve the stress I feel inside. Sometimes I just feel so angry, or stressed, that it seems to be the only way to deal with the emotions I'm feeling. And, I know that none of it seems to make much sense, but I think I can finally stop now that I've shared my story and have you to help me, Mitch. Maybe a mark for a mark isn't what is needed anymore." She didn't say anything, just gently caressed my wrist again, silently telling me that she was there for me.

**Mitchie's POV**

I lay beside Alex, silent for a long while after she had concluded her story, then said, "Thank you, for telling me. It means a lot to me." I tapped on her shoulder, causing her to look at me in confusion. "Alex, you should know that I don't think of you any less because of this. I still really like and care about you." Gently, I kissed her scars again, causing her to smile softly and caress the back of my hand with her fingertips.

"Thank you," she murmured after some time had gone by. "I never told anyone the whole story before. For you to just be there to listen to it, and still want to be with me after you know what a shithead I used to be...well, I don't think I can tell you how much it means to me."

I smiled and kissed her shoulder gently. "Always," I replied. "And thank you for earlier today when you saved me. You pulled me out of a really dark place, you know. I'm so glad you were there to help me back on my feet."

Her dark eyes found mine, and I saw something I had never seen in those eyes before: trust. Maybe even love, although I couldn't be sure of that. All I knew was that she now trusted me with herself and her heart. My heart started a violent tempo in my chest as she leaned in and gave me a passionate kiss, conveying without words how much tonight meant to her. "Always," she echoed once we had broken apart. I scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist with my head tucked into the curve of her neck. Her warm arms wrapped around me, providing a kind of warmth and sense of security that I had never known, not even with Shane before he had started cheating on me.

We lay there for I'm not sure how long, just content sharing the time together. Finally, I reluctantly broke the silence. "We should get back." Honestly, I didn't want to go; I never wanted to move from this spot. I was content to just be here with Alex forever, but I knew eventually we would be missed.

Alex nodded and stood, grabbing my hand. Her fingers fit perfectly in mine, and I couldn't help but feel like I understood her better now. In a companionable silence, we walked back to the cabin.

"Mitchie?" Alex asked as we pulled on pajamas.

"Hmm?"

"Can I…sleep with you?" she asked shyly. "Not like, _do _anything, I just…I don't want to be away from you," she added hastily, "even if I would just be across the room otherwise." Her nervous demeanor caused me to smile. This Alex - my Alex - was so much different than the one I had met at the start of summer. I felt like I was finally getting to know the real her. Gently I seized her wrist and pulled her towards my bed. I lay down, my back pressed against Alex's chest. Her arm wrapped around my waist, and I once again felt that sense of security wash over me. She buried her face into the crook of my neck and whispered, "Goodnight, Mitchie."

"Goodnight," I murmured, smiling in spite of how sleepy I was. _I could get used to this, _I decided before sleep's dark embrace found me.

**AN 2: I hope that this chapter explained Alex a bit more. That girl has gone through some crap, but I know from experience that sometimes you can't bottle it all up inside. People need to talk about that, especially if they are self-harming or otherwise trying to make their pain go away in a harmful manner. And I know that the reasoning might not make sense, but I know (through friends and personal experience again) that cutting isn't just a "get attention" kind of thing. It's a real problem, and while it might not make sense to most, the reasons can vary and can be rooted in causing someone else pain; it's a way of taking the guilt or shame you feel in hurting that person and giving it a physical outlet. I think Mitchie is good for Alex in so many ways, but this acceptance of Alex and her story is one of the most important ones, because it will start helping Alex heal. However, don't think that it's all sunshine and rainbows yet; I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Anyways, if you enjoyed the chapter, let me know! Review pretty please. I will be back with another update as soon as possible, maybe even by the evening if I get enough reviews! Thanks for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed it.**


	9. Chapter 9

Change of Heart

Ch. 9

**AN 1: So I'm back again, a little later than planned, with another chapter. My jet lag is still messing with me, so I apologize. Anyways, thank you guys so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. It really means a lot to me, so virtual cookies for everyone who's ever done so. I'm glad the response to the last chapter was so good; it took me a while to get that chapter the way I wanted it, but I think it turned out very well. I hope that this chapter is also liked; there was once again a lot of tweaking involved.  
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**Sue: It took a while, but I'm back. Honestly I wanted to have at least chapter seven up before I left, and then the whole Internet fiasco happened. Starbucks and their free wifi has become my new best friend since I've been back. Anyways, I'm really glad you enjoyed the shower moment. I like to think it was a good spot to show how much Alex has come along emotionally, as well as dive a little into Mitchie's background. Self harming is a big thing, and I really wish people were more open and understanding about it; it isn't something that is usually talked about, even though it should be. I'm sorry to hear about that...it gets better. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you so so much for all the love.**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: Thank you; it was probably one of my favorite chapters to write, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Chapter seven was more of a Mitchie revealing one, but I do agree that I didn't go as much into it. I'd like to think I'm revealing her story in more pieces; but Alex's self-harm was something that I felt should be told in one go, since that is usually a very 'taboo' subject. Alex we all knew was damaged, but you're right; Mitchie isn't perfect either, but she certainly tries not to let it stop her from living her life or letting it totally control her. I think that's why they work together so well. There's a little more 'fluff' of sorts for now, but you called it on the bumps. They aren't out of the woods yet.**

**Demenaforever13: Ah, the 'aww's are getting longer! I suppose that this is a good thing. Thanks, and I hope you like this chapter too. May it be aww-worthy too.**

** : Thank you, I hope that I did a good job. I also hope that you find this chapter to be good...it's a mostly sibling-interaction one, which I felt was needed. No matter who your best friend is, sometimes you just need to sit down with someone who's known you your whole life.**

**Aaaaand now I should state (once more) that I own nothing. Onto the story.**

**Alex's POV**

I woke to find that sometime during the night I had shifted to where I was lying on my back. Mitchie lay with her head on my shoulder, her body molded against mine. I glanced at the clock quickly. Its harsh green lights told me that it was 5:30 a.m. So I still had an hour before I had to be at the kitchen. I glanced towards the darkened ceiling, briefly hoping that I'd be able to fall back asleep, but after fifteen minutes of simply lying there and being unable to quiet the thoughts racing through my mind I gave that hope up as a bad job.

Although I was loathe to move and end this moment, I gently detangled myself from her and pulled on a white tank top and a pair of shorts and decided to wake Justin up. I really needed to talk to him. Quietly, so not to wake Mitchie up, I headed out the door. In less than five minutes I was tossing rocks at his window again. In all honesty, I probably could have just walked into his cabin, but I found this way much more entertaining. "Justin!" I whispered after the third rock had bounced off of his windowsill.

"Wha…Alex?" came the intelligible reply.

"I need you to do something for me," I said in lieu of replying.

"At 5:50 in the morning?" he asked sleepily, his disheveled head appearing in the window.

"Well, seeing how it has to do with you-know-what," I said, hoping that would get him out of bed.

It worked. Within the next 2.5 seconds he was out the door and next to me on the porch. "What is it? What did you do?" he said in a panicked voice. For as cool as he had become over the years, he was still the most dramatic person I had ever met, especially when he thought I had done something to screw up with magic. I suppose some things would never change; and this was something that I was thankful it wouldn't. The amount of change I had been experiencing lately, no matter how good it felt to be able to move on, was somewhat frightening to me.

"Nothing," I said, and in my good mood, I wanted to laugh at how jumpy he was. "I just need you to clean something for me."

"Clean something?" he repeated incredulously. He lightly punched my shoulder, his face full of indignation. "You woke me up for that? Seriously?"

"Please? I've got other things I need to do," I begged.

"Like what?" Justin whispered harshly, running a hand through his disheveled hair and yawning after he did so.

"Have you seen Mitchie's eye?" I asked, the rage I still felt at the incident beginning to boil in my veins again.

"Yeah, that was kind of hard to miss; she has a pretty good shiner. Why, what happened?"

"These two boys decided to prank her. The black eye is part of the result." I replied tightly. My hands clenched together in an effort to keep my anger in check. Blowing up at Justin wouldn't really help anything.

He sucked in a breath. "Ouch."

"Yeah, ya think?" I said sarcastically. "So those two boys are gonna wake up in the middle of a lake in their underwear with no way to get back to shore. Or something even more devious. They should pay for what they did to her."

"Whoa, Alex, think about that," he said, grabbing my shoulders. "If you do that, Brown could and probably would kick you out if someone somehow figured out it was you that did it. You aren't exactly in his good graces, and everyone here knows that. And considering that you're very obviously upset about this, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that you had something to do with them ending up in the middle of the lake or whatever else you might be planning in that condition. Think about Mitchie. You said she was special, so do you really want to have to leave her? If you talk to Brown about it, then the two responsible for her injuries are likely to get kicked out. And besides, Alex, from what I've seen of Mitchie and what you've told me, I really don't think that she would want you to do something like that. You said she had been bullied as a kid; would she really want you to inflict that kind of pain on someone else? Maybe you should just be the person Mitchie needs you to be, and be the bigger person."

I groaned softly, my anger dissipating slowly – but not completely – as I considered his words. As much as I didn't want to admit it, maybe Justin was right, and that what he was saying truly was the best thing to do at the moment. And if I knew one thing about Mitchie, I knew that she would never wish that kind of pain and suffering on another person, whether she had been hurt by them or not. Mitchie was just too good of a person to intentionally wish ill on any other human being. I knew that as surely as I knew my own name. And I also knew that she wouldn't look the same way at me again if I intentionally did something to hurt someone – even the dickheads that caused her so much pain – in such a way. It would ruin what we had just started to build; even if we hadn't officially clarified what exactly we were, I felt like she was already my girlfriend, and I was almost certain that she felt the same way towards me. And Justin was right; this way I could continue to spend my time with Mitchie, instead of having to explain how I managed to get myself kicked out of Camp Rock to my parents. Mitchie, or parents; I think I'd take Mitchie. "I hate it when you're right. She would never want me to do something so cruel, even to those…two."

He smirked. "I know," he replied smugly. "And, for what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing. The fact that you would even stop and consider that I might actually have a point shows that you've really grown a lot. You never would have done that before. You would've already done what you wanted to do before you came to me."

I exhaled and ran a hand over my face. "Yeah, I know," I murmured. "I really want this to work, Justin. And now that I've sat down and actually thought about it, I know that doing something to get them back would only break what I want so badly to work, even though I'm just…God, Justin, I'm so _angry_ for what they did. I don't understand how they could do that to someone so…wonderful, you know?" I sighed again, and Justin patted my shoulder in a silent gesture of understanding. "It just doesn't seem right. Mitchie deserves so much more than that. But, umm…speaking of wanting this thing with me and Mitchie to work…I also had to talk to you about something else." I admitted, playing with a random string protruding from my shirt. "About something a little more…personal."

"Uh oh," he joked, seeing the look on my face. "I have a feeling I'm gonna want to sit down." he said, motioning at the step in front of us.

We sat, Justin staring intently at me. "I think…" I began, "I think I'm in love with Mitchie."

"You think?" he repeated. "Alex, did you even hear what you just said? It's kind of obvious. And besides, I've been trying to tell you that from day one. I know you do." He smiled at my shocked expression. "I know you can make this work. That girl you've been acting like for the past three years? I knew that wasn't you. You've got scars on your heart, and that changed you, but I knew Mitchie would be the one to change your heart. You just had to give her a chance."

"Then why on Earth have you been spending this whole time warning me away from her?" I asked indignantly, punching his shoulder as I did so.

He laughed softly and flicked my forehead. "Alex, you never do anything unless I warn you _not_ to do it first," he joked, causing me to shoot him a glare. "I was telling you what you wanted to hear, little sis. It was what you needed at the time. You needed to work your feelings out for yourself, so I played your voice of reason."

I sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated by his answer. "When are you ever not my voice of reason?"

He tipped me a wink. "Let's just pretend that it's in the older brother's handbook," he smiled as he spoke. "But seriously, Alex, I'm always gonna look out for you. You're my little sister and I love you. And I think that this girl is good for you. She's making you act more like the old Alex I used to know, the girl with the really big, caring heart; rather than the player you've been acting as for years now. And not only that, she's helping you become even better. I mean, she's really something if she can get you to actually stop and think things through instead of just doing whatever harebrained scheme you always seem to come up with."

"Wow," I laughed, winking to let him know that I was kidding. "You went and got all mushy on me."

"Shut up," he muttered, blushing slightly before he shoved me off of the step and back towards my cabin. "Go see your girl and let me go back to sleep."

As I walked back towards my own cabin, I realized that I wouldn't mind being able to call Mitchie my girl at all.

**Mitchie's POV**

I woke to find myself alone. "Alex?" I called softly. When there was no answer, I drew my knees to my chest in an attempt to hold myself together. We hadn't done anything, but I felt like she had ripped out my heart. Normally I wouldn't have made such a big deal about such a small thing, but with all that had happened in the past day, my emotions were running high and all over the place.

Suddenly, I felt a warm arm wrap around my body, and her breath tickle my ear. "Good morning, gorgeous."

I twisted in her arms to stare into her warm brown eyes. "You're here," I said.

She looked at me quizzically. "Where else would I be?" she questioned.

"You weren't here when I woke up," I mumbled into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I had to take care of something with Justin." She stared at me, and I could read the truth in her eyes. "And…I had to think about some things."

"What kind of things?" I asked, my mind spinning. Where exactly was this going?

"You and me," she said softly.

"What about you and me?"

She shifted positions, so we were side by side, her arms wrapped around me as we leaned against my headboard. "Last night was…the best night of my life. And it got me thinking. If I ever could truly love again, I think it would be with you. You make me feel so different, so right, and I don't want to ever let you go." She chuckled softly. "What I'm trying to say here is: Mitchie, would you be my girlfriend?"

**AN 2: It might be kind of obvious what will be said next time, but I hope you guys let me know what you think anyways! For all of you who have been telling me that I should do something completely awful to Mike and Nick, I don't believe that Mitchie would like that, since she is such a caring person. However, Alex might do something later on, so we'll see how that goes. For right now, I think Alex just wants to make Mitchie happy, even if she's beyond pissed at those two. Also, I feel like after all the heavy talk of bullies and cutting that this was a lighter piece, which is probably for the best. I'm going to do my best to keep the ball rolling on my updates this week to make up for the weeks I was gone. Remember, reviews make for a happy Darklighter. Also, if you've subscribed to me and noticed that I've uploaded a couple things for different series, just know that I will finish this story out and I do have other plans for Alex and Mitchie stories. That won't change, I swear. Alex and Mitchie are like my number one. Thanks again; Darklighter out.**


	10. Chapter 10

Change of Heart

Ch. 10

**AN 1: So, thanks to popular demand, I'm back with another chapter. The response to this story so far has been really amazing, so once again thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, all that jazz. It really does mean a lot to me. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as well, and I'm gonna try to keep the author's note short, so onto the shoutouts.**

**Nightingale11: Thank you; I'm really glad you've enjoyed it so far. I'm glad I've "created", for lack of a better word, an Alex that is capable of making someone proud with her growth, so thank you for that as well.**

**Demenaforever13: Eep, a super long aww and in all caps? The hits just keep on coming lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**Thatwizardatcamprock: Haha sorry for the little cliffhanger...but the answer is first thing, so maybe that will help.**

**MileyJakes: I'm not sure there was any doubt, but I do suppose you'd have to read and find out. I certainly didn't drag out the answer if it makes you feel better.**

**Sue: I'm glad you liked the Justin/Alex time. I think that despite all their bickering, they really do care for each other and have a close relationship, so I enjoyed writing that. Hope this chapter is at least somewhat lovable too.**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: I guess this means my predictability is improving then, which I can only hope is a good thing. Justin is written as an ass a lot, which is why I really wanted to give them a real brother/sister relationship without the whole "ass" aspect to things. He's a good guy, they're just fundamentally different on some levels; just like any sibling couple is. And in regards to your concern, you do get to see a little of Caitlyn/Alex interaction here, but they won't resolve things until a little later. Caitlyn's mistrust stems from the fact that her first impression of Alex was much like any other player who liked to break innocent girls' hearts, so it's hard for her to reconcile the image she has in her head with the one that a clearly infatuated Mitchie has trying to explain. They will have a sit-down conversation in the near future though.  
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**cyansnap: Well, like he said, he's her voice of reason. It's a huge deal for her to ask someone to be her girlfriend, so something is definitely changing inside her...and I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not, but I'm just gonna roll with it and say you'll see soon enough.**

**And, as per usual, I'm once again obligated to remind you that I own nothing. Onto the chapter.**

**Alex's POV  
**

I sat waiting for Mitchie's answer, my heart thudding frantically. What if she said no?

"Yes," she finally said, making me feel like Christmas had come early.

I let out a relieved sigh, saying, "Thank God. You know, for a minute there I thought you were going to say no."

She gave me a shocked look. "Why would I? I really like you, Alex," she admitted shyly, twisting a portion of her bedcover in her hands as she did so.

I smirked playfully and leaned in to kiss her, relishing in the feeling of her lips on mine. _I could definitely get used to this_, I decided. "That's good," I said when the kiss ended. "I really like you too." I stared into her chocolate eyes, willing her to see the truth. "I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't a relationship person. Relationships hurt too much. But I know that I want to be with you, want to wake up next to you, fight for you with every scrap of my soul. If I ever could be in a relationship again, I would want it to be with you." As soon as I said it, I wondered if that was too heavy for a new relationship. Maybe I shouldn't have said that yet. Shit.

Her eyes lit up, causing my heart to melt. A part of me still couldn't believe that this was happening to me. After all, what did I do to deserve such an angel? Her lips brushed across mine again, soft and sweet. The kisses started off feather-light, but increased in intensity. "You're freaking out," she mumbled between kisses.

I scoffed lightly. "No, I'm not," I muttered, despite the fact that I was. I wasn't sure when this had started happening to me; I was the ever-confident Alex Russo. Yet around Mitchie I found myself worrying that she might realize that despite my improvements, I still wasn't good enough to her.

"Don't," she whispered against my lips. "I want you to know you can tell me anything you want, okay?" I grunted in response, as that was all I was finding myself capable of at the moment, and she pulled me closer for a long kiss.

"As much as I'd love to continue doing this," I managed, sometime after our impromptu makeout session had begun, "I'm supposed to show up at the kitchen…five minutes ago."

She gave a small laugh and reluctantly, I slid out of her bed. Before I walked out she pulled me into a hug, stealing another kiss in the process. "See you at breakfast," she whispered into my neck before I pulled away and reluctantly began to run towards the kitchen.

I ran into Brown as I hurried up the kitchen steps. "Ah, Ms. Russo," he said. "Late again, I see."

"I know, but this is the first time I've been late since I started working in the kitchen, I swear. I was making sure Mitchie was okay," I explained, which was more or less the truth. He didn't need to know _how_ exactly I was doing that. That was something that I wasn't willing to share with just anyone yet.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

"These two guys rigged a bucket of paint to fall on her," I said, "and when she tripped over the rope she got a black eye and a lot of scratches. Her shoulder is bruised too; she's having a little trouble moving it right now."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Not an unfair question, truth be told. And the old me probably would've made up a wild tale like this in a heartbeat, but I remembered what Justin told me. Be honest, and I'd probably get the two who did this expelled from camp. That was a thought I could contemplate quite cheerfully, in all honesty. And if it was the only way to get back at them and be able to keep my newfound relationship with Mitchie, than I wouldn't hold back and not tell Brown what I knew.

"I know you have no reason to believe me. But I wouldn't lie about Mitchie. I swear." I met his stare evenly, without blinking, hoping he would believe me.

Before he had a chance to reply, Connie Torres poked her head out of the door. "She's telling the truth, Brown," she said, her voice tight. "I saw Mitchie myself. Alex wouldn't lie about something like this. She's a good girl, and she cares for my daughter very much."

He continued to scrutinize me, making me feel as if I was under a magnifying glass. However, Connie's vouching for me seemed to cause him to change his mind. "Who are these boys?" he asked finally.

"Mike and Nick," I said. "I didn't get their last names, but they looked like they could be brothers."

"I know exactly who you're talking about, Miss Russo," Brown replied. "I've been having problems with those two since they got here, but since they weren't doing anything harmful, I couldn't do anything about it. However, this camp has a strict no-bully policy. I want to see all four of you after breakfast. My office."

Mitchie was just going to _love_ this.

**Mitchie's POV**

"Hey you," Alex said, placing a kiss on my cheek as she sat down. Her lips curled into the cocky smirk I loved and she added, "And friends." She slipped her hand in mine under the table after she had fully sat down, causing me to smile slightly.

Caitlyn shot me a dark look, asking me silently what was going on with the two of us. "Oh," I answered, deciding that it was a good idea to just drop the information bomb sooner rather than later. We wouldn't have been able to hide it for much longer anyways. "You guys haven't officially met. Most of you haven't, anyways. This is Alex Russo. My girlfriend."

Peggy was the first to get over her shock. "Hi," she said brightly. "I'm Peggy."

The others – minus Caitlyn and Tess – introduced themselves as well.

"So, lemme see if I got this right," Alex said, pointing at them in turn. "You're Peggy, then Ella, Barron, and Sander. Right?"

"Yup," Ella said cheerfully. The rest of the group went on to tell Alex how pleased they were to finally meet her. Only Tess and Caitlyn remained somewhat withdrawn from the conversation; Caitlyn shooting dark looks in Alex's direction while she ate and Tess giving me furtive looks across the table.

"Okay, what the _fuck_?!" Caitlyn finally exploded, slamming her hands down on the table and causing the rest of the group to jump in surprise. Tess winced, giving me an apologetic look.

"Caitlyn," she said warningly, resting her hand on her girlfriend's arm and giving her a 'sit down' look.

"I get it," Alex said, her face betraying no emotion. I knew better though, for her hand tightened on mine underneath the table. _She was actually nervous_, I realized. _She wants to make a good impression._ The thought made my heart glow warmly. If she was worried then there was no way that this was the same girl that I had first met. That Alex wouldn't have given a second thought to what others were saying.

"Do you?" Caitlyn shot back aggressively, ignoring Tess's warning look and shaking off the hand on her arm. "Because I don't think you do. Mitchie's my best friend, and I've seen enough of her being hurt by you and people exactly like you to just sit back and accept this."

"Is that how all of you feel?" I asked coolly, glancing around the table. Their faces betrayed what their words had been trying to hide.

"Mitch," Alex said softly. "I get it." To Caitlyn and the others she said, "I totally get that you guys wouldn't trust me. You have every right not to. I know I've hurt Mitchie, and that is inexcusable. But I do love her, and I'm here until she asks me to leave."

Ella was the first to speak. "I like you," she said, and just like that, the tension in the group evaporated. Even Caitlyn managed to crack a smile. _Thank God for Ella,_ I thought. That girl was much too airheaded for her own good at times, but when it really mattered she always came through. And that airheaded quality was what made her such a poor liar. If she said she liked Alex, then it was a sincere like.

"Okay," she said, finally lowering herself back into her chair. "I'm willing to not say anything more against you. For now. But if you hurt her-"

Alex cut in. "Then you can do whatever you want with me. I'd rather die than hurt her again."

The seriousness in her voice shocked the table, but none so much as me. Caitlyn gave her one last look of distrust before returning to her eggs and bacon. "'Die' is a strong word," I murmured after everyone had struck up different conversations, so that only she could hear.

She flashed me the crooked smile that caused my heart to melt whenever I saw it. "I know," she said back, just as quietly. "But that doesn't make it untrue." She laughed, clearly trying to take my mind off of her words, and kissed my forehead quickly. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? As long as you want me to be, I'll be here."

I stared at her, noting the open honesty in those deep, expressive eyes that I had come to adore. "Good," I murmured, resting my head on her shoulder. "I think I'm going to want you around for a long time."

She gave me a wide smile at my words. "A long time, huh?" she asked devilishly. I knew she was planning on teasing me mercilessly about this, and braced myself for the onslaught that was sure to come. However, she simply placed a kiss on the top of my head and returned her attention to her breakfast, although she made sure to keep her hand in mine under the table. "We'll see about that, love," she murmured against my hair. My lips curled into a small, hopeful smile. Maybe this could actually work beyond summer. I was willing to hope for more simply by her words. "By the way," she added around a mouthful of toast, "Brown wants to see us, Mike, and Nick after breakfast."

Oh joy.

**AN 2: Well, there you have it everyone. Once again in the interest of keeping the note short (you didn't come here to see me ramble in this way), I'm pretty much going to leave it at that. Be sure to let me know what you think pretty please! Virtual cookies (and a shoutout; who doesn't like shoutouts?) for everyone who does. Darklighter out.**


	11. Chapter 11

Change of Heart

Ch. 11

**AN 1: Hey guys...I'm so incredibly sorry about how long it has been since I've updated. What can I say except that life has gotten completely out of wack for me. My Internet is still completely unreliable, and my family has been springing one trip on me after another. I really hope that this chapter can make up for some of that at the very least. It's been modified quite a bit, and I'm hoping that it's appreciated...if any of you guys are still out there. Like I said, I'm so incredibly sorry and I hope that this will make it up to you some. I should be posting another chapter either later tonight or tomorrow as well, so be on the lookout for that.**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: What they did was cruel; I ended up dealing with them in a way that was different than the original, yet I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with it. Let me know what you think anyways...I think I have something else for them in the works again later on that will be more satisfying in any case.**

**Thatwizardatcamprock: Thank you very much. I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for reviewing :)**

**Demenaforever13: The aww's are getting even longer...eep. I'm glad you think it's cute. Thank you.**

**Im a Skyscraper: The excitement is appreciated. I hope the wait was at least somewhat worth it.**

**To anyone else I forgot to reply to a review, THANK YOU FOR READING. It truly means a lot to me that you guys are interested in what I have to say. **

**Now for the usual disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Unfortunately. Anyways, let's just move past the author's note and onto what is really important: the chapter.**

**Alex's POV**

Mitchie and I stood in front of Brown, Mike and Nick next to us. He whistled as he took in Mitchie's black eye. "So," he said, staring hard at the two boys. "You two did this to her."

Mike stuttered, "W-Well…"

"We did," Nick interrupted smoothly. "It wasn't intentional, but we did." He looked at Mitchie. "Mitchie, we're sorry. It was meant to be a harmless prank, we didn't expect you to get so banged up."

Mike echoed him. _At least one of them is somewhat honest, _I noted, my hands curling into fists tightly. It was obvious that neither was happy about this turn of events, but Mike didn't have the smarts to cover up his guilt like Nick did. The temptation to magic these two guys out into the middle of the lake was still overwhelming, and I had to force myself to simply pay attention to what Brown was saying instead of acting on the impulse.

"Well, rules are rules," Brown said regretfully. "For injuring another camper, I'm going to have to ask you two," he said, looking at Mike and Nick, "to leave camp for the rest of the summer."

Mike opened his mouth furiously, but Nick elbowed him roughly. "Okay," he said calmly. The both of them walked out the door. That had seemed ridiculously easy, all things considered, but I was just thankful that it was over and that Mitchie wouldn't have to deal with those two again.

Mitchie and I turned to head out as well when Brown called me back. "Alex, I need to talk to you."

Mitchie looked at me, concern shining in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll catch up," I promised. To Brown, I added, "Yeah?"

"I've talked to Connie more since this morning, as well as some of her other staff members," he started. "And they've all said you've been doing excellent in there. They actually say that you are a bright, funny, and caring girl to work with. So, despite my immense surprise, I've decided to let you off the hook. You don't have to help out in there anymore."

I almost hugged him. "Thank you!" Brown freeing me of my kitchen duties meant I could spend more time with Mitchie, which was always a good thing, but I found myself somewhat reluctant to accept. I had actually enjoyed working with Mitchie's mom and the other staff there. "But," I added as he turned away. "I think I'd like to keep helping out there, if that's okay."

He gave me a smile. "You certainly seemed to have changed since the beginning of summer," he noted. He was right; I had. However, I wasn't going to agree with him to his face as a matter of pride."I don't think Connie would turn away the extra help."

When I stepped out of his office, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and slammed me against the wall. "You little bitch," I heard Nick snarl into my ear. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" His arm was pressed up against my throat, choking me, but I didn't allow myself to show him the fear that was bubbling in the back of my mind. Mike stood behind him, arms folded across his chest and clearly making sure no one interfered.

"You deserved it," I growled back, glaring at him. "You're just lucky I only told Brown, or you'd be worse off right now."

"You –"

The rest of what he wanted to say was interrupted by a small fist connecting with the side of his head. "Shut up, Nick," a voice I never would have expected came from my right. Caitlyn Gellar stood there with a fierce expression on her face. "Leave Alex alone."

Mike moved closer towards us. "Come on, Cait. We all know you don't like Alex anyways. She got us kicked out. My dad is going to kill me for getting kicked out two summers in a row. So why don't you just let us have some fun?"

She gave him a scathing look. "Please. That was your fault for pulling such a stupid stunt in the first place. And you work for my dad. So if you think your dad will kill you for getting kicked out of camp, imagine what'll happen to you if you get fired from your day job too. Back off." I felt the pressure on my throat fade as Nick eased his arm away from me. "Leave Alex alone, Nick. I might be small, but you know what'll happen to you guys if you get caught fighting after being expelled. Brown would probably call the cops on you guys. And we all know you can't have another strike on your record, or you'd be sent to juvie."

Nick slammed my head against the cabin wall one more time before stepping away. "You better hope that we don't show up on your block sometime, Russo." He shot me a look that clearly wished me a painful death before turning on his heel and walking down the steps.

I rubbed my throat softly and turned back to Caitlyn. "You know, I could've handled that," I said calmly.

She snorted. "Just take the help, Russo. They were right, you know. I don't like you. But Mitchie does, so I helped you. End of story." She started off in the opposite direction of where Nick and Michael disappeared. "Wanna walk with me for a little bit?" she called over her shoulder.

I hurried after her, still rubbing my neck. "Thanks," I managed to mutter after a couple minutes of silence.

"Don't mention it," came the gruff reply. She came to a stop abruptly, causing me to bump into her. "You shouldn't have to worry about them anymore, by the way," she said. "Nick is a cruel bastard, but he won't do anything without his little enforcer. And Mike will be too freaked to do anything with the threat of unemployment hanging over his head. Really and truly he's a giant pussy."

I chuckled softly. "So really, they aren't as scary as they've been making themselves out to be."

"Pretty much," Caitlyn replied, smiling tightly. "Your neck might bruise a little though."

"I'll be fine."

"Look, I wanted to get a chance to talk to you," Caitlyn admitted softly, running a hand through her hair and chewing her lip nervously. "I know I've been acting really awful towards you since you got here, and I just wanted to say…I'm sorry."

Her face told me that it was extremely hard for her to admit when she was wrong, and had I been the old me, I probably would have mocked her endlessly for that admission. However, I managed to smile. "It's like I said at breakfast today, Caitlyn. I totally get it. Had you met me in New York, you would have been right; I wouldn't have given a damn about breaking her heart. I'd done it countless of times already. But I'm different now. Mitchie has made me want to be different." I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "However, you're her best friend, and I do want to clear the air with you. Start over, all that. So is this the part where I get the 'you break her heart and I break your face' talk?"

Caitlyn laughed, a warm and rich sound that I hadn't heard coming from her since the day I had been introduced to her. "I think we both know that already, Russo. But the way you stood up to those jackasses back there made me think that maybe you aren't so bad after all. You stood up for Mitchie, and didn't even flinch when it came back to bite you in the ass. Mitchie needs someone who will stand up for her like that. She's so sweet and considerate; sometimes she forgets that she is allowed to put her happiness first."

I found my smile widening as she spoke. "Isn't that the truth. Back when we first met, she told me that she'd do a no strings relationship if it'd make me happy, even if it meant that she'd get crushed. There's just something about her that isn't like anyone else. The last thing that I want to do is hurt her in any way."

Caitlyn's eyes bored into mine, searching for any sign of deception. "I believe you," she said finally. "Look, I really want to set things right with Mitchie now. I've been an ass lately, and really want to make things right again."

"You know," I said slyly, smirking in her direction, "you could just apologize."

She punched my shoulder lightly, but smiled nonetheless. "That was the plan, Russo. The question is: do you want to come with?"

"No," I replied instantly. "You guys need to talk without an audience. I'll hang back, and after you work things out I'll come over. Deal?" I held my hand out, silently offering a truce to the shorter girl in front of me.

"Deal." Caitlyn shook my outstretched hand. "Thanks, Russo. I think that maybe we could start to be friends, if you wanted."

I shook my head slightly. "Not until you start calling me Alex," I said, smiling to let her know that I wasn't too concerned either way.

We began the walk to Mitchie and I's favorite bench by the lake, and Caitlyn startled me by throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Thanks, Alex. For being so understanding despite how I acted."

I shook off her arm playfully as we neared the bench. "No problem. Now go make nice." I leaned against a tree and watched as Caitlyn walked up to my girlfriend. She really wasn't so bad; I could see why Mitchie liked her, in any case. Their relationship reminded me a little of mine and Harper's, before everything had been turned upside down.

**Mitchie's POV**

I sat picking at my black nail polish on a lake bench, waiting for Alex. "Hey," a voice said from my right. "Can I join you?"

Looking up, I saw it was Caitlyn. "Sure," I said, shifting to make room for her on the bench.

She sat on the edge, looking nervous. "Look, Mitch…I'm sorry about this morning."

I cocked an eyebrow, not entirely sure I believed her. "Are you?" I sighed as I spoke. "Look, Cait, you're my best friend, you know that, right? I just want you to trust me enough to let me make my own decisions here."

"I really am sorry," she replied, without hesitation. "I was a dick. I didn't want to trust her. But the way she looked when she talked…the words she said, everything made me realize she's head over heels for you." Caitlyn spoke quickly; as if she was afraid I would cut her off. "I know I've been acting like I don't trust you, but I just didn't want to see you get hurt again. But I was wrong, Mitch. She really is a good person. I'm sorry it took me so long to see it."

I sighed. "I know you didn't, Cait. I really like her, and it would mean a lot to me if you guys got along."

"We've worked it out," she replied, causing me to look at her in surprise. "Hey, she was very convincing." Her smile told me that she meant what she said. "She's not so bad after you get to know her." She poked my side gently, causing me to laugh. "She might be a keeper after all." Her words caused me to smile widely. I felt as if a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "Speak of the devil," she added, smiling slightly as Alex came up the worn trail.

"Hey, Mitchie," she greeted me and slipped her hand into mine, before turning back to Caitlyn. "Hey."

Caitlyn stood up and squared her shoulders. "I was telling Mitchie how sorry I was for acting the way I did at breakfast," she explained. "But I owe you an apology too."

Alex cocked an eyebrow at me. "Okay," she said slowly. "But like I said, I deserve the suspicion you gave me. Don't worry about it."

Caitlyn grinned. "You know, I could learn to like you," she said jokingly.

Alex laughed at her comment. "You aren't so bad either, Gellar. Maybe we could get along." I squeezed Alex's hand in appreciation at her words, causing her to smile even more widely. I could tell that she had meant what she said, and I knew that Caitlyn really wasn't a bad person at all; she was simply trying to protect one of her best friends from getting her heart broken. I was well aware of Alex's troublemaker image; it was one of the things that had attracted me to her in the first place, truth be told. However, I also knew that Alex meant what she said when she told me that she was trying to be a better person for me, and wanted to let her know that I recognized what she was trying to do and appreciated it. She squeezed my hand in return, silently telling me she understood what I was trying to convey. I knew from what Caitlyn had already told me that all of their interaction right now was for my benefit more than theirs, but I couldn't help but smile at the fact that they were really getting along now.

Caitlyn gave the dark-haired girl beside me another smile. "This is going to be fun," she said with a smirk. "I can't wait to get to know you." She turned to me after this comment. "Oh, um, Mitch, Tess wanted me to see if you were free for Final Jam practice tonight."

"Can Alex come?" I asked instantly.

Alex cut in, saving Caitlyn from answering. "Actually, I told Justin I'd do something for Final Jam with him, and we were supposed to practice tonight." She gave me an apologetic smile. "I'd much rather spend the time with you," she admitted. "But a promise is a promise."

I gave her a quick peck on the lips. This girl had changed so much since coming here. I remembered some of the stories she had told me while we were in our cabin, and almost wanted to laugh from how startling the difference was. "Don't worry about it."

She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my hair. "Did I ever tell you that you're amazing?"

I was about to respond when Caitlyn coughed next to us. "Guys, I know you're in love and all, but can you please not get super-mushy around me?" The three of us laughed at her comment, but Alex made no move to let me go. "I'm gonna let you guys have a couple minutes alone. Don't take too long though, Mitch. We all know how much Tess doesn't like to be kept waiting."

After she had disappeared down the worn trail, Alex was quick to lean in for another kiss. It was slow and unhurried, conveying how much she cared with the tender way her lips moved against mine. "Thank you," I managed to get out after we parted, resting my forehead against hers as I spoke. When her dark, expressive eyes showed me how confused she was at my words, I smiled and stole another quick kiss. "For working things out with Caitlyn. I know it probably wasn't easy, but it means a lot to me that you did."

Her eyes shifted, lightening in color and moving from confused to a tender look. "Always," she murmured, kissing me again.

**AN 2: Like I said, if anyone is still reading this after my long absence, I hope it was appreciated. I promise I will actually finish this story out, even if it is taking longer than I originally thought it would. I suppose you could say that this chapter is out in honor of Selena Gomez's new album (since it came out today), which is pretty good if you haven't checked it out. Let me know what you guys think, and I will be back with another chapter within a day. I don't usually like to say things like "I promise", but this is a promise to those who are still reading for being gone so long. Anyways...let me know what you think, pretty please. Thanks for continuing to read as well. It really means the world to me. Darklighter out.**


	12. Chapter 12

Change of Heart

Ch. 12

**AN 1: So here is another chapter; hopefully I'll be able to upload chapter thirteen soon as well. To the people who actually read the last chapter despite my extremely long absence: THANK YOU. Like I said in the note there, it really means a lot to me. I'm trying to wrap this story up; there's only a few more chapters left (even though I can't say for sure exactly how many yet...go figure, right?). I will warn you guys...major angst is in the next couple of chapters.**

**To the guest who left a review: Thank you for the review :) seeing those kinds of things always makes me happy. At least you're honest about having to reread parts, which I appreciate anyway. And since I just updated yesterday, that hopefully won't happen this time. The love is much appreciated either way. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope that this chapter won't make you hate me too much. The Alex/Caitlyn interaction was a demand from a couple people, and I had a good time writing it. Guys are gone for now; they may or may not be back for more. The bruise will be addressed in good time. Anyways...thanks again for updating. Drop me a line again if you so feel like it.**

**Suefanficlover: Omg, I feel like this is Sue the guest who's been with me since the beginning...if it is then HI, I'm super excited that you've joined the site. If this isn't...well, sorry about that. HI anyways and thanks for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter in any case. Stars Dance is a great album...and Forget Forever is one of my favorites too! However, I'm like obsessed with Love Will Remember right now...maybe a one-shot is in order. Thoughts? Haha, anyways, I hope you like this chapter too.**

**Thatwizardatcamprock: That IS something that I can promise will happen. I hope this update was soon enough ;) and that you enjoy it.**

**LovezObsessed: Thank you! I had to take a little break so I could tweak the story...a lot. And then all my other stuff got in the way. BUT, I am bound and determined to finish this story, so thank you for sticking with it despite the wait. It means a lot to me.**

**Demenaforever13: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY your aww's just make my day haha. Thanks for the love.**

**Once again, I own nothing. Now onto the chapter. Enjoy, guys.**

**Alex's POV**

"So," Justin said, resting his bare feet on the table in front of him. Hours after Mitchie, Caitlyn and I parted found the both of us holed up in the Final Jam building as we practiced for the rapidly approaching event. "It's 'they say that we're just too young to know, but I'm sure, heart and soul, that I am never letting you go', right?" He strummed his guitar as he spoke, his fingers betraying none of the tiredness laced in his voice.

"Yeah," I said. Finally, we had gotten our lyrics down. Well, I say 'we', but really I meant him; I wrote the lyrics, after all.

"Okay then, can we call it quits for tonight?"

I gave him a smirk. "What happened to the workaholic Justin?" I teased.

"He's not home," he mumbled tiredly, rubbing his eye with his right hand before running it through his dark hair. Glancing at his watch, he said, "Alex, it's almost eleven, and you know what happens to me when I don't get enough sleep."

I sighed in mock exasperation and reached over to ruffle his hair playfully. He swatted at my hand with an annoyed look on his face, causing me to laugh. "Okay," I conceded, still chuckling, "it is getting late." Besides, I wanted to see Mitchie.

We parted ways after I promised him I wouldn't have him up to practice again anywhere within the next twelve hours. He needed his beauty sleep, after all.

I peered through the screen door, checking to see if Mitchie was awake or even there. We had parted ways hours before to work on our individual Final Jam performances and I hadn't had a chance to speak to her much after that. I saw her curled up in bed facing the door, her eyes closed. Smiling, I softly pushed open the screen door and crossed the room, heading to my bed. My quiet entry was ruined once I stubbed my toe on the bedpost, and I swore softly. "Where do you think you're going?" Mitchie demanded groggily, her eyes cracking open at the sudden noise.

"I didn't want to wake you up," I explained, my smile growing wider despite my throbbing toe at the sight of her blinking owlishly in the dim lighting. I walked to the side of her bed and sat down, running my fingers through her silky hair as I did so. She scooted over, creating room for me to slide into the bed next to her. I wrapped my arms around her, and said, "Did you guys have a good practice?"

She yawned. "Yeah, it was alright. Turns out I'm not working with Tess and Caitlyn except for choreography and such. Nate came down and we worked on a new song. It was a really nice surprise, actually. I liked seeing him."

"Okay…um, who's Nate?"

She laughed softly and curled further into me. "He's just a really good friend from Connect 3."

Her tone told me that I had nothing to worry about, so I decided to drop the matter. I kissed the top of her head softly. "Get some sleep, Mitch."

She looked at me with those deep brown eyes. "Will you still be here in the morning?"

This time, I kissed her lips. "For as long as you want."

**Mitchie's POV**

I woke to find I was curled in Alex's arms and my face buried into her hair. Lifting my face, I found her warm eyes, deep and expressive, looked back at me. "Good morning," I breathed.

She smiled before kissing me softly, her lips like rose petals. "Good morning, beautiful."

I hummed, pulling her in for another kiss. "Final Jam is coming up soon," I mumbled into her neck after the kiss had ended.

"And I'm sure you'll be amazing," Alex responded, pulling back slightly to run her hands through my hair and brush her fingertips over my face. I felt the spots where she had touched me burn pleasantly, and closed my eyes at the sensation.

"You've never heard me sing," I said softly, burrowing my face into the crook of her shoulder even more.

"I don't have to hear you in order to know you're amazing," she replied, shrugging. "I believe you are. That simple," she pulled back again so that my face was exposed and tapped my nose with her index finger in a playful manner.

I leaned in for another kiss, only to be interrupted by Justin swinging open the door. "Alex, I – whoa," he finished, taking us in. We weren't naked or all over each other, but we were cuddling, causing him to blush furiously and look anywhere but in our direction. His reaction caused me to bite back a laugh, not wanting to make him even more embarrassed if I laughed at him.

"Hey," she said, smirking at his astonished look. "You need something?"

"Um, yeah," he said, avoiding looking at us.

"Justin," Alex said pointedly, "we aren't doing anything inappropriate."

"Ha, right. Anyways, we're supposed to…erm, call Mom and Dad, remember?" Justin looked at her, and some invisible conversation passed between the two.

She straightened, tightening her grip on me briefly before she rolled towards the edge of the bed. "Yeah, okay." To me, she added, "Sorry, Mitch. I'll catch up with you, okay?"

I shivered slightly as she stood reluctantly. There was a slight tension in her movement that made me nervous, but her dark, suddenly guarded eyes told me not to ask. Fixing a smile onto her face, she turned to Justin. "Let's go."

A few minutes after Alex had disappeared I heard a light tapping on my door before Shane Gray appeared in my doorway. "Mitchie," he said, moving closer towards me with his infamous smirk on his lips. His hair was a little shorter than the last time I had seen him, and he appeared as if he had been working out more, but that smirk was the same as it had always been.

I stiffened. Shane was the last person I would ever want to see again. "Get out, Shane," I snapped, throwing a pillow in his direction.

He laughed as he caught the pillow easily. "I just want to talk, Mitch," he said smoothly, moving to sit on my bed as he did so.

"Funny, because I don't want to talk to you," I snapped back, my blood boiling. "Say what you need to say and get the hell out."

Shane placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "You wound me," he joked. "I miss you, Mitchie. I was stupid to ever mess around with that other girl. I want you back. And I know you want me back too." His dark eyes drilled into mine as he spoke. Only a couple of years ago, his dark gaze would have caused me to melt, but now it only served to remind me of how much he had broken my heart. Alex's eyes were almost the same shade as his, but hers were constantly filled with love and respect for me as a person. Shane's gaze raked over me again, reinforcing the difference between them. His eyes were cold and held no real regard for me, despite his seemingly caring words.

"No, I…mmph." My denial was cut off as he roughly forced his lips on mine, crushing me into his chest as he did so. I pulled back as quickly as I could and slapped him across the face. "Get out, Shane," I hissed, wiping some of his saliva off of my face as I did so. "I don't want you back. I don't want to see you again. Just get out."

His face darkened as I spoke, but he smirked nonetheless. "Nate told me about your little girlfriend," he said coolly as he moved towards the door. "I didn't want to believe it, but I figured I'd come out here to see if it was true. Suddenly, his face broke out in a wide, shit-eating grin. "And it looks like it was true," he laughed harshly, pointing out the screen door. My heart dropped as I hurried to the screen door and peered out. I saw Alex's back moving hurriedly away from me. "I'll be seeing you, Mitchie," Shane hissed in my ear as he walked out, leaving me alone and feeling more empty than I had ever felt before, even after I had discovered his tendency to sleep around. I ran my fingers through my hair in agitation.

What had Alex seen? And what was I to do now?

**Alex's POV**

I followed Justin to a secluded part of camp out near the lake. He pulled out his wand and flicked his wrist, opening a portal to connect with our parents in New York. "Hi," I said, interrupting Dad asking Mom if we were out of pudding.

"Alex, Justin," my mom gushed, moving away from the fridge and reaching out to the portal. "How have you guys been?"

"Good," I said uneasily. I hoped to whatever deity was out there that she wouldn't try to reach through and hug us. As hilarious as the result would be, I didn't want to deal with trying to fix it. I was already fighting a huge amount of anxiety from this conversation anyways. While Mitchie had been asleep, I made the decision to finally come out to my parents. I never had before because there hadn't been anyone really worth the inevitable "coming out of the closet" talk, for Emily had ended our relationship before we had gotten serious enough for that kind of commitment; as far as I knew my parents just thought I was a very touchy-feely kind of friend.

Dad noted my discomfort and pounced. "What trouble did you get into this time?"

"Not much, actually," I said, causing them to share a skeptical look and me to roll my eyes in exasperation. Some things never did change; I was always the first one that they would assume was causing trouble.

Justin leapt in, sparing me from continuing to try to convince them. "No really, she didn't."

"But I do have to tell you guys something," I admitted before they could continue to doubt my apparent lack of causing my typical mayhem and mischief. "I don't like guys."

They exchanged glances, and I heard Justin suck in a breath softly. I hadn't discussed my decision with him before we made the call, so he was just as surprised as they were. "What do you mean?" Dad asked.

"I'm not interested in dating guys," I clarified, scratching the underside of my wrist nervously. What would they say to me? Maybe this was a mistake after all.

Another glance, then… "Honey, we've known this for a while," Mom admitted. I shot Justin an outraged look. Noticing this, Dad said, "No, Justin didn't tell us," he paused, then said, "though why you would tell him is a little beyond us."

I laughed. "Me too sometimes." I gave Justin a wink, telling him I was kidding. I exhaled in relief. That hadn't gone nearly as bad as I had pictured in my head. "Oh, um, are you guys coming down for Final Jam next week?"

"I believe so," Dad said, returning to his quest to find pudding now that he had ascertained that I really hadn't caused my usual amount of trouble.

"Okay, then I've got someone I want you to meet." I paused, then added, "Are you guys sure you're okay with me being homosexual?" I would never admit it out loud, I did want their approval. They were the one true constant in my life besides my brothers, and as much as it delighted me to drive them crazy, I always found myself in need of their love and support, and knew that I could count on that love and support whenever I needed it.

"Honey," my mom said firmly, "you're our daughter, and we want you to be happy."

Dad moved closer to the portal, a cup of chocolate pudding clutched in his hand, and added, "Besides, now I don't have to worry about some boy having his hands on you."

I didn't bother to point out that it would be a girl touching me instead.

A few minutes later, I jogged up the cabin's steps with a wide smile on my face. Despite my initial dread of the conversation we had with my parents, I now felt like I was on Cloud Nine. The smile disappeared as I heard a male voice emit from the other side of the door. "I miss you, Mitchie," the voice said as I crept towards the door. "I was stupid to ever mess around with that other girl. I want you back. And I know you want me back too."

At hearing these words, my heart started to pound in my chest frantically. What was going on? I peered through the screen door and found Mitchie, my Mitchie, kissing a dark-haired boy who I recognized was Shane Gray from how much the boy had been in the media in recent years. Whatever happy feelings I had been feeling from coming out to my parents disappeared as I saw the scene in front of me. I stood and ran, not wanting to see the inevitable fallout occur. I ran until all I could hear was the wind, and all I could feel was the slap of the soles of my shoes as they hit the hard ground, and then I kept running.

**AN 2: I think this is the part where I run away. I hope that it wasn't too predictable in any case. Let me know what you guys think, and I'll be back as soon as possible. What will happen to Alex and Mitchie next? Drop me a line; I love hearing from you guys. Thank you once again for reading. Darklighter out.**


	13. Chapter 13

Change of Heart

Chapter 13

**AN 1: Three updates in as many days? What is this madness? I guess I'm still trying to make up for my absence. I'm assuming that's okay haha. So the response to the last chapter was pretty intense. I'm glad people didn't see that one coming. I know you all will be heartbroken to hear this, but I'm fairly positive that Shane has served his purpose for the story and won't really be making much of an appearance anymore, if at all. Fair warning though, this chapter is once again pretty dramatic. I hope the response is just as good though. Thanks for continuing to read, guys.**

**ohsupwhassup: When you think about it, it's kind of the knee-jerk reaction. What will she do next?**

**Suefanficlover: This is the part where I should say "well, if you kill me, then you won't know how the story ends" or something. I'm all for you killing Shane though; I don't like him in this story either. There is some rockiness ahead, but since this is a Alex/Mitchie story all the way, it will be resolved. I totally know what you mean. Super excited to hear more from you, my friend. **

**Guest known as "Person": I guess I'm just a cruel person like that...but I updated the next day, so... lol. Anyways, let me know what you think.**

**Nightingale11: Nice to see that you're still reading haha :). I'm glad I didn't lose you as a reader. Shane, man. He just had to mess things up. But like I said, I think I'm done with him for the story. He's more of a bump in the road then a major roadblock.**

**Demenaforever13: I try to make it as aww-worthy as possible. I don't think that this one is aww-worthy, but I hope you drop me a line and let me know what you think regardless.**

**LovezObsessed: Haha, your review made me smile so much. I usually write Shane as a pretty cool guy (or at least I think I do), so I really wanted to try to change it up a little bit. I hope this chapter is appreciated...even if it makes you want to tear your hair out after you're finished reading.**

**Now that the shoutouts are done, it's time for the usual disclaimer. I don't own Camp Rock or Wizards of Waverly Place. I think everyone knows this by now. I hope that this chapter sparks something for you guys; it took a while to write it the way I wanted. Enjoy.**

**Alex's POV:**

I couldn't honestly recall how long I had been running for. My eyes blurred with tears as I ran. I had done what no one back home ever would've believed. I had fallen in love with a girl. A wonderful, smart, talented, beautiful girl: Mitchie Torres. I had exposed more of myself to that girl than I had ever planned to. She knew all about my colorful past and the guilt I still carried with me over the damage I had inflicted on the girls I had actually attempted relationships with. She alone knew how much I still missed Harper; not even Justin knew how much the other girl's death had affected me. And despite all of this, she had kissed someone else the moment my back was turned. I felt exposed and raw, like a nerve under a surgeon's blade in an operating room.

I stopped once my lungs were burning. At this point my body could have literally been set on fire and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. I knew that I was hot and sweaty, but all I could really feel at this point was an incredible sense of numbness. I leaned my weight against a tree and sucked in a lungful of air greedily, then pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, willing myself to stop crying. _Mitchie_. I had been running to forget the image of her lips on Shane Gray's, but all I seemed capable of seeing at the moment was Mitchie. Painfully, I recalled the conversation we had the other night after we had both climbed into her bed.

"_Alex," Mitchie's soft voice cut through the sound of crickets chirping outside of our cabin._

"_Mmh," I replied, dozing off slightly as I felt her long, delicate fingers trace random patterns across my back._

"_Do you ever miss Harper? Or Gigi, for that matter?"_

_Her question caused my sleepy state to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. I turned my head and stared at the ceiling, noticing all the lines in the worn wood as I turned her question over in my mind. "I don't not miss her," I said finally. "You have to understand something, Mitch. Gigi and I were enemies for a long time before we were ever even friends. It's somewhat easy to not miss her as much because of that. But yes, sometimes I do miss her." I paused, trying to formulate my thoughts._

"_But?" she asked quietly. When I didn't respond, she started to speak again. "Alex, you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand; it's a hard thing to do. I'm sorry for asking you such a difficult question."_

_I could feel her eyes on me as she spoke, but refused to take my eyes off of the ceiling. I knew that it would be easier for me to continue to talk about this if I kept my eyes fixed on the ceiling. "And Harper…Harper I miss every single day," I finally revealed. "She was my best friend. My only true friend, really. She and I had been attached to each other's hips since kindergarten." I chuckled at the memory. "Gigi had been picking on Harper for whatever it was that she was wearing, and I didn't like that. So I hid a carton of apple juice under my shirt during snack time, and when it was time for us to take our nap, I squirted the juice all over her lap and mat." I grinned widely, still recalling the priceless memory. "Harper and I got sent to a different area of the room for that; I was sent for doing it in the first place and Harper was sent for laughing so hard that she was disrupting the rest of naptime. We bonded after that."_

_Mitchie laughed at the memory with me. "You really were a little troublemaker," she said ruefully. _

"_What about you?" I asked. "Are there any ex-significant others of yours that you miss?"_

_Her laughter died down immediately, causing me to remove my eyes from the ceiling and finally look in her direction. "Shane," she admitted. "He was my first – and only – boyfriend. He was my first real relationship, period. However, I don't know why I miss him on occasion though. I caught him screwing some blonde girl in the back of his tour bus while he was still with me. He completely broke my heart. "_

"_What an asshole," I said, causing her to laugh again. I smiled, simply happy that I was able to make her smile._

"_He is," she agreed. "I don't think I'd ever go back to him, just because of that."_

I swallowed thickly as her words replayed in my mind. He had cheated on her, and she was still going to go back to him. I knew that if I ever had the choice of having another girl or staying faithful to Mitchie, I would choose to remain faithful every time. There was no comparison or doubt in my mind, despite the scene I had witnessed. The damage had been done; I was a changed person. And now I was also heartbroken.

Eventually, I pushed myself off of the tree I had been leaning against and made my way back to the cabin I shared with Mitchie. I suppose it was time to face the inevitable falling out.

**Mitchie's POV:**

It had been hours since I had last seen Alex. I had looked everywhere I could for her; she wasn't by the lake, she hadn't been attending her classes of the day, and she wasn't in the small grove that she had shown me only two nights previously. Sighing, I decided to check the last place I thought she could be: the kitchen.

"Mom," I called as I walked through the back door. "Mom?"

My mom poked her head out from the counter she had been kneeling behind. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"Have you seen Alex?" I asked. "I really need to talk to her."

"No, I haven't," she replied as she stood up. At my fallen expression, she moved closer to me. "Did you two have an argument or something, sweetie?" She opened up her arms to me as she spoke, silently inviting me to sink into my mother's arms like I would when I was a small child. Instead of fighting it, as I usually would have done, I simply allowed myself the pleasure of being held like I was once again my mother's baby girl and rested my head against her warm shoulder.

"I think she might be mad at me," I confessed. "Shane came by our cabin today; while she was making a call to her family."

I felt her arms stiffen around me. "Tell me what happened," she said firmly and pulled back to look directly into my eye. "Did he try to take advantage of you?"

"I guess, kind of," I admitted. "He kissed me." At my mom's scandalized look, I hurried to continue. "But that's not the worst part, Mom. I think Alex saw and ran off. I've been trying to find her and explain what happened, but I haven't been able to. She's been gone for _hours_." My voice broke slightly as I spoke, and I felt my mother's arms tighten around me. "What if she thinks I'm going back to him?"

"My sweetie," she replied, stroking my hair as she did so. "If she cares, she will give you a chance to explain."

I sniffled softly and pulled away from her warm embrace. "I'm going to go back to the cabin. Maybe she went back there."

**Alex's POV:**

I banged door of Cabin 69 shut, pulling a girl – whose name was still unknown to me – inside with me as I did so. I had run into her on my way back, and the way she looked at me caused me to snap and pull her along with me. The blonde-haired girl giggled and I silenced her with my lips on hers. We weren't here to laugh and make small talk; I wanted to forget everything, and the quickest way to do that was to find a warm body to have a little fun with. This girl was ready and willing, and I was going to forget Mitchie right now. How hard could it be, right? This girl was the complete opposite of the dark-haired girl who had been filling my thoughts since I got here. It should be a piece of cake.

I pulled her over to my bed and threw her down onto the mattress. She gave a soft gasp at my rough behavior, but her misgivings were quickly rectified after I climbed on the bed and straddled her hips. My lips moved to her neck and began to suck insistently, causing her to moan loudly. Vaguely, I wondered if Mitchie's voice would sound more appealing to me, and I shook my head. _Forget about her,_ I told myself firmly. _She's forgotten about you._

The girl below me grinded her pelvis up to meet mine and I hissed in pleasured surprise. My eyes cracked open and I stopped what I was doing to her neck, opting instead to sit up and begin to remove her shirt. Her deep blue eyes, so unlike the chocolate brown ones I had come to adore, gazed into mine and caused me to halt my motions as soon as her shirt was completely off. I couldn't go any further. She was the exact opposite of Mitchie…and all I could think was how much I'd rather be in this position with the other dark-haired girl. Goddammit.

"Why are you stopping?" she asked breathily, sitting up under me. Her eyes widened as she realized my misgivings, and she shifted so she was sitting beside me, rather than under me. "You don't want this," she stated. It wasn't a question, but I still felt incredibly guilty and more than a little incompetent. Was this how guys felt when they were incapable of getting it on too?

"No, I do," I denied, not fully willing to believe that I had just turned down sex. This was definitely a first for me. "I do…just, I don't think I want it…with you." _Smooth, Russo, really smooth,_ my mind whispered. If that wasn't taken as an insult I don't know what would be.

She laughed lightly. "You really know how to make a girl feel special, Alex," she said, her laugh telling me that she wasn't at all offended by what I had just said.

"I'm sure you're a lovely person," I said, trying to apologize to her despite her casual joke. "But, I just can't get this girl off my mind." Did I really just say that out loud? Now she really was going to think I was a grade-A asshole.

"Mitchie Torres?" she asked softly, trailing her fingers down my arm in a comforting manner.

"How did you…?"

The girl laughed again and shook her blonde hair out of her face. "Alex, I don't think you realize this, but you fascinate the camp. The whole bad girl aura you project is…well, it's insanely hot," she said boldly. "But Mitchie Torres is a Camp Rock sensation too, you know. She's got an incredible voice, and people have been into her since her first summer here for that alone. And she really is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. Everybody loves her. Therefore, everybody knows about your relationship, even if you two haven't publicly acknowledged anything."

I gaped at her. "I, umm…" Her revelation had rendered me incapable of formulating my thoughts. "Why would you agree to hook up with me then?" I asked, confounded.

"To see if I could get to you at all," she admitted with a self-deprecating smile. "I like Mitchie, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't willingly hurt her. But I also really liked you; I wanted to see if I even stood a chance." She placed her hand on my back. "And now I know. I never really stood a chance at all. You should talk to her. I know you were using me to try to forget her. Just talk to her instead." She combed her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth it out. "Believe me, you'll feel a hell of a lot better if you do."

I smiled crookedly at her. "Thanks, umm…" I paused as I realized that I still didn't know this girl's name. "I don't know your name," I admitted, slightly ashamed of myself for not at least learning this girl's name before I dragged her to my bed.

"Jamie," she said, offering her hand to me. "No hard feelings, by the way. Mitchie is a lucky girl."

"Jamie," I repeated, shaking her hand as I did so.

The moment was interrupted by the cabin door opening and a startled gasp. "Alex!" Mitchie exclaimed, her eyes filling with hurt at the sight of me and a half-naked girl in my bed.

"Mitchie," I replied, getting up slowly. "It really isn't what it looks like, Mitch. Just give me a chance to –" The cabin door slammed again as she stalked out, causing me to drop my head in my hands. Just when I had gotten everything figured out, something else came along to mess everything up again. What the hell was I going to do now?

**AN 2: Oh, snap, guys. The drama intensifies. Maybe I really should run away before I get killed by one of you guys; I know everyone wants Alex and Mitchie to work things out. Let me know what you think anyways, because I really want to know what you guys think this means. Pretty please drop me a line; your reviews really do mean a lot to me. I will be back soon with another update (and even sooner if I get a lot of reviews *nudge, nudge; wink, wink*). And the shameless begging for reviews will come to an end now. Darklighter out.**


	14. Chapter 14

Change of Heart

Chapter 14

**AN 1: Once again, the response to the last chapter was incredible, amazing, fantastic...you get what I'm trying to say. Thank you guys so much. I'm posting another chapter due to the demand, BUT I'm obligated to tell you guys...this will be the last chapter until AT LEAST Monday. I have a little family reunion-type thing going on this weekend, so I won't be posting anything. Hopefully this chapter will tide everyone over until then. Or at least make any desire to kill me for the last couple of chapters fade slightly. Hopefully. Maybe.**

**mkpunk: Well welcome to the story then. Thank you so much for reading, and for leaving a review. I'm glad you're enjoying it. You're totally right; they were both hurt, but it will probably take a little time for them to work it out. I hope you stick with the story though. Thanks for reviewing again.**

**LikeAStorm: Your review made me laugh; the enthusiasm was great. Maybe this chapter will give you some hope of reconciliation though.**

**MyGlitterDreamCloud: Haha, well it's nice to know that you're still reading. It's totally okay; I get that...I actually had that happen to me when I was trying to post my replies to the reviews for chapter 12, haha. Thank you for the review. I'm glad that what I wrote wasn't too predictable. It seems to be the basic reaction of a lot of people whenever they get hurt: let's try to forget in some way. And for Alex, that was the quickest way to try to do it; not to mention that it's been her fallback in the past. They do have a conversation about it in this chapter, but like I've hinted already, it does take time to work out. Thank you for the love and review; it means a lot.**

**Suefanficlover: The benefit of the doubt is much appreciated, as well as the compliment. Revelation is an almost must. Like, Alex needed to be put back in that familiar situation in order to realize... "hey, this just isn't doing it for me anymore." Muchas gracias for the love and support. You're awesome :)**

**Guest known as "thatwizardatcamp": Haha, it's a fallback, but she did get something out of it regardless. I hope that this update helps with the frustration a little bit at least. Thanks for the review.**

**Demenaforever13: Thank you for the aww; that always makes me laugh. I'm glad you found the chapter good even though there weren't really aww-worthy moments. This chapter may or may not contain some though, so let me know what you think.  
**

**didyouforgetaboutme: I'm glad I made your night...and I updated again. AHH! Incredible, I know *insert self-deprecating laugh here*. Girls, man. Just girls. I was actually talking to a friend about a situation similar to this, and his response was "preceived threat causes people to act crazy sometimes", which is what's going on here. No matter how much you care for someone, sometimes you can't help but jump to the wrong conclusion and react poorly. However, there's a little bit of resolution going on here...it's just going to take some time.**

**LovezObsessed: Haha, your response made me laugh too. She should, but it's that irrational part of the brain speaking right now, not the logical, which is why she left instead of staying. Really, I think it was perfectly justifiable. At least with her situation, her and Shane weren't caught in an as compromising position. They shall work it out...in due time.**

**I hope that everyone likes this chapter...and once again, I own nothing. Absolutely nothing. Anyways...enough of my rambling. Onto the chapter. Enjoy, guys.**

**Mitchie's POV:**

My eyes filled with tears as I walked out of the cabin. I couldn't believe her; I had been worrying about her all day, running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find her and explain to her that I wanted her and only her, only to find that she was hooking up with other girls in our cabin. I crouched on the step, unwilling to move much further. The door opened again and the blonde girl disappeared, giving me a small smile as she did so. My hands curled into fists and I fought the temptation to go after her and punch her in the face. _Stupid blonde bimbo, _I thought savagely.

"Mitchie?" Alex called tentatively as she moved out of the cabin as well. "Can we talk about this?"

"What's there to talk about?" I asked in a brittle voice. "If you didn't want to be my girlfriend there were other ways to tell me, you know. And I have been worrying about you _all day_, only to walk in and find…_that_," I spat as she sat down beside me. She reached out to brush my bangs out of my eyes, and I jerked away violently. I didn't want her to touch me after I had caught her in the position I did.

"Mitch," she replied sadly, running her hands through her hair nervously. "I saw you kissing Shane this morning. I thought –"

I cut her off harshly. "For your information, he kissed me. I didn't kiss him back, and I pushed him off of me the first chance I got. He wanted to get back with me, but I told him no. I didn't want him Alex, I wanted you." My tears dried as I spoke. How could she really think so little of me?

Her face darkened slightly at my tone. "You have no idea how it looked from where I was standing," she replied. "I saw you guys in some disgusting…liplock," she spat, "and his hands were all over you. It certainly didn't look like you were doing much to get him off."

"Shane is a lot bigger than me," I said coolly. "Of course I wouldn't have been able to get him off right away. And if you had stayed, and, oh I don't know, maybe talked to me about it instead of going out and finding some random girl to fuck then you'd know that!"

Alex sprang to her feet, her face livid. "I didn't go out to find some girl to fuck," she yelled angrily. At my arched eyebrow, she hurriedly corrected herself. "Well, not at first anyways. I ran to forget. I didn't want that sickening image stuck in my head and I ran, okay? Jamie was just trying to make sure I was okay." She spun on her heel and stormed into the cabin and I heard things crashing as she continued to rant. A few minutes later, she emerged with a small backpack slung over her shoulder. "And for your information," she said coldly as she marched down the steps. "We didn't do anything. I realized that I didn't want to "fuck her", as you so eloquently put it, and we just ended up talking."

Her revelation hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. They hadn't done anything…because she didn't want to? How did that happen? I scrambled to my feet as she started to stomp off. "Alex," I called, fighting the tears I felt building in my throat. "Where are you going?"

She turned to me and looked at me with sad eyes. I had always loved her eyes; they were so expressive, and I could spend the entirety of my day gazing into them. Now they were clouded with pain and regret, and I instantly felt myself wanting to take back the harsh words I had said and comfort her. I had hurt her, which was something I never wanted to do. Granted, I didn't know what had taken place before I caught her, but I had sprung to conclusions as well, just like she had with Shane. "Justin's," she said softly, her voice now subdued. I watched as all the fight seemed to drain out of her body, leaving her seeming much smaller than I had ever seen her before. "I think it's better if we both get some space right now, Mitchie." She turned on her heel and began to walk away again.

I wanted to run after her. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to hit her. I wanted to shake her and prove to her that I'd never choose Shane over her. I wanted to yell at her. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted her to stay. Instead, I watched her walk away from me and what could have been a beautiful relationship.

I returned to my cabin and curled up in a ball on my bed. I couldn't believe how quickly all of this had spiraled out of control. Just this morning we had been perfect. I clutched my pillow to my face and inhaled. I could still smell Alex's unique scent on the pillow, and that alone was enough to cause the tears I had been fighting against to spill out.

"Hey, Mitch," Caitlyn's voice called out from the front porch, breaking me out of my thoughts. "We were supposed to meet up and practice for Final Jam," she continued, opening my door. I heard her step into the small cabin, but made no move to acknowledge her. "And when you didn't show I came to look for –" Her voice broke off as she realized that I was crying. "Mitch, what happened? Are you okay?"

I allowed her to pull me into an upright position, only to promptly fall into her arms. "It's Alex," I managed to say thickly. "I think we might have broken up."

Caitlyn's fingers ran through my hair, a gesture that she knew would soothe me. "Tell me what happened," she demanded quietly. Despite her quiet tone, I could tell that she was angry from the way she stiffened under me at my words.

"I found her with some girl," I mumbled into her shirt. Caitlyn swore loudly, and moved to get up. "Let me finish!" I exclaimed, tightening my grip on her arms to prevent her from leaving. "Shane came to see me this morning. He told me that he had made a mistake and wanted me back; then he kissed me when I refused. Alex was making a call home with her brother, and when she came back all she saw was me kissing him. She thought I was going back to him and tried to forget how upset she was by finding some random girl to sleep with. She just walked out of here to go stay with her brother a little while ago."

"That bitch," Caitlyn swore again. "I'm gonna go kick her ass."

"She says she didn't do it though, Cait," I replied, preventing her from leaving once again. "And I believe her."

"Either way," Caitlyn replied, looking murderous. "She hurt you. And I'm not gonna let that go, Mitch." She stood and crossed over the room again. "Stay here," she said. "I'm going to have a little chat with that jackass." Before I could protest, Caitlyn left, leaving me alone once more.

**Alex's POV:**

I trudged up the steps to Justin's cabin and wearily threw myself onto his bed. He gave a yelp as my body landed on his. "Alex," he hissed, poking my side harshly. "What is your problem?"

I shook my head and buried it in his chest. "I think we broke up," I mumbled, my voice muffled by his clothes. "We got into a massive fight just now."

Justin put his arms around me comfortingly. "Talk to me," he responded in a way that only a big brother could. "I promise I won't judge, and I'll save my comments for after you're done."

Haltingly, I told him about what had occurred after our talk with our parents, her finding me with Jamie in my bed, and the resulting fight. If I was being completely honest, I was somewhat surprised that he hadn't heard us; his cabin wasn't far from ours and we hadn't exactly been subtle. "I'm such an idiot, Justin," I concluded. "She was right; I didn't even give her a chance to explain herself."

"Well," Justin said, rubbing my back soothingly. "Hindsight is twenty/twenty, as they say. Best thing to do now is figure out if it's worth fighting for or if you should just leave it as is."

"I want to fix this," I admitted softly. "I couldn't even look at Jamie without thinking about Mitchie. She's really all I want. I can't believe I messed this up so bad." I sat up to look at him hopefully. "Will you help me?"

He gave me a reassuring smile. "You're my little sister, Alex," he replied. "Of course I'm going to help you."

I grinned for the first time since this morning. "I think we need to reconsider what we are performing for Final Jam," I said, pulling a sheet of paper out of my bag as I did so. Justin gave me a quizzical look. "I've got a song idea," I explained shortly. All other thought was blocked out as I began to write.

A short while later, I heard the door swing open so forcefully that it knocked a couple of Justin's belongings off of the dresser by the door. I looked up to find Caitlyn Gellar standing in the doorway, her fierce expression reminding me of a bear. "Russo!" she bellowed, before launching herself at me and forcing me to the floor. After managing to pin me (which wasn't all that hard considering that I wasn't doing anything to prevent it), Caitlyn pulled her arm back and swung, her sharp knuckles connecting with the side of my face and leaving me dazed.

"Whoa!" Justin exclaimed, rushing over from the opposite end of the room to pull the smaller girl off of me. "What the hell was that for?"

"Tell him," she spat at me, twisting in my brother's strong arms. "Tell him what his precious sister did. Whatever happened to "I'd rather die than hurt her", huh?" She turned to glare at Justin angrily. "Let me go."

I rubbed my jaw and sat up, locking my gaze with the furious brunette in front of me. "Justin," I said wearily. "Let her go. She had every right to hit me."

"Alex, I don't think that's a good idea," he replied, arms still firmly locked around the small girl to prevent her from moving.

"Just do it," I retorted. I shifted my gaze to back to her. "I'm the one who tried to hook up with a random girl just to try to forget Mitchie. I hurt her in the worst of ways. So really, I was kind of expecting this to happen." Justin's arms loosened enough to allow Caitlyn to slip out of them and she strode towards me, her face still a livid mask, and crouched in front of my face.

"Yeah, well I hope you're happy with yourself, Russo. She's completely heartbroken," she hissed angrily.

"I didn't want to hurt her," I replied, finding myself incapable of looking into her eyes. "I thought…"

"That she was going back to Shane?" Caitlyn asked scathingly. "Come on. That douche completely broke her. And now, so have you. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat the shit out of you right now."

I decided that now was not the time to make a joke about my brother still hovering over me protectively. "I didn't mean to hurt her," I repeated. "I really didn't, and I'm so incredibly sorry about that. After what I saw…well I just assumed the worst."

"You know that Mitchie isn't like that," she said, face still hard and unforgiving. "She's the sweetest girl ever."

"I know," I murmured. "I want to make it up to her. But I really did think that a little space is needed right now. We both said things we didn't mean…and I just want to give her some space to just cool off, you know?"

Caitlyn's face softened, and she moved to sit next to me. "I should have figured as much," she admitted, voice now much softer than it had been. "I've kind of been where you are. The only really big fight that Tess and I ever got into was almost exactly the same; the only difference was that I didn't go out and try to get over her right away."

I scratched at the underside of my wrist harshly, leaving a trail of angry red marks in my wake. "Oh," I muttered, now even more ashamed at the way I had reacted. We lapsed into silence, but she made no move to get up.

"What were you going to do?" she asked suddenly. At my confused look, she smirked and nudged my shoulder. "I know you weren't going to just leave it the way you did. We're a lot more alike than I'd like to admit, you know."

"I was going to try to reach out to her again at Final Jam," I admitted quietly. "I guess I figured that if I did something like that, maybe she'd realize I was serious about her after all."

"Then I'll help you," Caitlyn replied. My eyes snapped up to meet hers in surprise. Of all the things I was expecting, _that_ was certainly not one of them. "What?" she asked, taking in my surprised look. "She really misses you, and I can tell that you're sorry. So, if you want, I'll help you."

I found myself smiling again for the first time since the fiasco occurred this morning. "I'd like that," I admitted quietly, before wincing in pain. "Damn," I mumbled, touching my jaw tenderly. "You really know how to throw a punch."

She smiled widely. "I know," came the cocky reply. "You might want some ice for that."

"Shut up," I muttered, shoving her arm playfully.

"Next time, I won't be so forgiving, you know," she replied, fixing me with that hard stare again.

I looked back at her, meeting her gaze directly for the first time since she came in. "There won't be a next time."

**Mitchie's POV:**

After Caitlyn left, I found myself incapable of sitting still and ended up wandering around camp in search of a distraction. I didn't go after her; I knew that nothing I could say would dissuade Caitlyn, and I also knew that Justin wouldn't let anything bad happen to Alex. I also knew that if I saw Alex again right now, I'd be incapable of keeping myself together. So I continued to walk, allowing my feet to simply carry me aimlessly. I looked up when I noticed a familiar figure sitting cross-legged on a nearby bench.

"Nate," I called out as I spotted his head of dark curls on a bench by the lake.

He gave me a wide smile as I approached him. "Hey, Mitch," he called back and slid himself over on the bench he was occupying to make room for me. As I sat, he fidgeted. "So, I umm, heard Shane paid you a little visit," he stated nervously.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "You could put it that way. I think Alex and I are broken up now."

He winced. "I'm really sorry, Mitchie," he said apologetically. "I really didn't think he would react like that, and that's the only reason why I told him in the first place. I didn't know he would pull that kind of shit."

I gave him a small smile despite his role in what had just happened. He was still one of my closest friends, no matter what had happened between his brother and me. "Nate, you're seriously one of the best friends I've ever had," I said, trying to reassure him. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. But I need your help now. You know the song we were writing for Final Jam?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck in confusion.

"I have a different idea for the song, and I could really use your help," I replied. "It could help me win her back."

Nate flashed me a smile. "For you, Mitchie, I'd do anything. You're one of my best friends too, you know. And besides, after how I screwed this up – even if it _was_ unintentional – for you, I definitely owe you."

"Oh my God, thank you," I squealed, throwing my arms around him excitedly. I stood and seized his hand, pulling him towards one of the lesson buildings. We had a lot of work to do if I was going to get my girl back; for as much as she had hurt me, I know that I had also hurt her, unintentionally or not. And this new idea for a song was my way of trying to make it up to her.

**AN 2: Caitlyn and Alex working together? Mitchie trying to make up with Alex while Alex is taking some time to work out how to make up with her as well? I suppose this means that there is still hope after all, right? Please let me know what you guys think. I can't say enough how much what seeing your thoughts means to me. I won't be back until Monday at the earliest, but I still want to know what you guys think, so click that button. Now that I've begged, I'm going to end the author's note section. Darklighter out, with much love to all my incredible readers.**


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